Dr. Joana Colussi is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. Her research and extension interests include agribusiness management, crop markets, technology adoption, and international agriculture. As an extension educator, she has also worked closely with key stakeholders in the U.S. Midwest, Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay—important global players in grain production.

Before joining Purdue, Colussi was a Postdoctoral Researcher, an Instructor, and the Research and Learning Innovation Coordinator in the Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She has taught global agribusiness management at the undergraduate level and global agriculture and supply chains at the graduate level, helping students understand the complexities of international markets and agribusiness strategies.

Colussi is a member of Purdue’s Center for Commercial Agriculture and the farmdoc Extension program at the University of Illinois. She also collaborates with Purdue’s Center for Food and Agricultural Business. Recognized for her expertise on South American crop market trends, Colussi has presented research and extension findings to diverse audiences across the United States.

Born and raised in Brazil, she earned a bachelor’s degree in social communication from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, a master’s degree in agribusiness, and a Ph.D. in business administration from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. She transitioned to academia after a 10-year career as an agricultural journalist in Brazil, during which she received several national and international awards for her work.