Faculty

Lynn Adler's research integrates plant-animal interactions across mutualisms and antagonisms, including floral, foliar, and belowground tissues, to arrive at a more complete understanding of the ecology and evolution of resistance and attractive traits in both basic and applied systems.

How does a plant make an organ with a specific and heritable shape? This is the question at the heart of research in the Baskin lab.

Dr. Ana Caicedo's research seeks to understand the genetic basis of adaptation, as well as the population and genomic context in which adaptive evolution occurs.

The two current major research areas in our laboratory share the common focus of dissecting the signal transduction pathways that mediate plant cell responses to external growth and developmental stimuli. 

Daniel R. Cooley's lab focuses on developing forecast models for diseases that drive this fungicide use in order to reduce it.

Michelle DaCosta's field of study is plant responses to environmental stresses, with emphasis on drought and temperature stresses of grasses.

Because microbes embody the vast diversity of life and are major drivers of earth’s biogeochemical cycles, Kristen M. DeAngelis's work focuses on understanding microbes both from individual physiological perspectives as well as broad ecological perspectives.

Om Parkash Dhankher's fields of study are Plant genetic engineering and biotechnology, phytoremediation of soil contaminants.

The Facette lab studies the cellular mechanisms of asymmetric cell division in plant cells.

Lillian Fritz–Laylin's research program seeks to understand the evolution and regulation of the cytoskeleton.

Barry Goodell's laboratory conducts research on fungal and bacterial systems, and on the biochemical mechanisms these organisms use to cause oxidation in substrates.

Masoud Hashemi's research activity is mainly focused on integrating sustainable management practices into farming systems. 

Sam Hazen's laboratory is exploring two distinct avenues to understand biofuel-relevant aspects of plants.

Current interest centers around the role of calcium, membranes and the cytoskeleton in cell division and development.

Much of Rachel Hestrins's lab research focuses on rhizosphere and hyphosphere processes that influence productivity, stress tolerance, organic matter dynamics, and nutrient cycling.

Martha Hoopes' research focuses broadly on the roles of spatial and temporal heterogeneity in plant population and community dynamics with a strong focus on invasion dynamics and conservation.

Peter Jeranyama's research area is Plant Environment Interactions.

Geunhwa Jung's field of study is Molecular genetics and breeding of disease resistance in grasses and population genetics of plant pathogenic fungi.

Work in the Katz lab aims to elucidate principles of eukaryotic evolution through phylogenetic reconstruction, community sampling and analyses of genome evolution.

Dr. Keiser is an ecosystem ecologist working at the interface of plant and soil microbial communities across both forested and agricultural systems.

Li–Jun Ma's lab studies genetic mechanisms that sustain structural and functional flexibility while maintaining the integrity of the organism using the model fungal system Fusarium oxysporum.

Sibongile Mafu's interests are focused on exploring the biochemical diversity underlying plant natural product chemistry through elucidation of the biosynthetic components involved in the formation of specialized metabolites.

Jill Miller's research interests are in the ecology and evolution of plant reproductive systems.

Plant peroxisome proteostasis and recycling

Giverson Mupambi's research program applies basic principles of plant physiology to study questions related to fruit quality, canopy management and shading effects on cranberry production.

In my research, I combine my expertise in viticulture, plant pathology, ecology, evolution and genomics to understand microbial ecology in wild and agro-ecosystems with the goal of improving the sustainability of agricultural practices.

Hilary Sandler's fields of study are Agriculture and Fruit Integrated Pest Management.

Tristram Seidler's fields of study are plant ecology, plant diversity, invasive plants, and climate change.

Kristina Stinson is a plant ecologist interested in the responses of individual species and populations to global change.

Ludmila Tyler's research interests focus on achieving a clearer understanding of bioenergy-relevant traits, including biomass accumulation and cell wall composition, structure, and dynamics. 

Sai Sree's research program also focuses on understanding the factors affecting disease occurrence and management.

Elizabeth Vierling's research interests are primarily in processes that occur post-transcriptionally and post-translationally to regulate cell function.

Elsbeth Walker's group has a strong interest in the processes by which plants move iron and other transition metals within their above ground parts.

Dong Wang's group is interested in the molecular basis of mutualistic interactions between eukaryotic hosts and microbes. 

Lawrence Winship's recent research and teaching interests include the biophysics of gas diffusion into and out of root nodules and compost piles; computer models of forest succession applied to inquiry learning and the regulation of cell wall expansion during oscillatory growth in lily pollen tubes.

Field of Study: Environmental behavior of emerging contaminants and their interactions with plants