Fabian holds an M.Sc. degree from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and is now pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Plant Breeding in the Department of Soil and Crops at Texas A&M University, with funding from World Coffee Research (WCR), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Technological Institute of Costa Rica (ITCR). For his M.Sc. degree he investigated candidate genes from Coffea germoplam for controlling the fungus Mycena citricolor (leaf spot). Prior to starting his Ph.D. he worked for almost eight years on coffee breeding and phytopathology for the Center of Investigation in Coffee (CICAFE) of the Institute of Coffee of Costa Rica (ICAFE) and as a breeding professor at ITCR. His research in Texas A&M University focuses on evaluating the gene expression of coffee plants under physiological stress caused by Hemileia vastatrix (leaf rust) and crop load and their impact on the quality.