The ASPB Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows (SURF) program funds promising undergraduate students so they can conduct research in plant biology during the early part of their college careers over the course of 10 consecutive weeks. This year’s SURF recipients will present their research at Plant Biology 2020. Congratulations to these 2019 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows and their mentors:
SURFers from Doctoral Granting Institutions
Tayah Bolt, University of California Davis
Project: Fungal Toxin Influence Over Transcriptional Regulation of the Plant Shikimate Pathway
Mentor: Dr. Daniel J. Kliebenstein
Ava Heller, Ohio University
Project: Characterization of AHA2 at the Interface of Gravitropism and Phototropism
Mentor: Dr. Sarah E. Wyatt
Jeremiah Lukes, University of Vermont
Project: Is the retromer required for polarized cell growth in Brachypodium distachyon?
Mentor: Dr. Mary L. Tierney
Viviana Martinez-Martinez, Universidad Politecnica de Pachuca
Project: Studies of the function of miR156 in plant embryogenesis using genome editing
Mentor: Dr. Stewart Gillmor
Suprene Mohamedzein, Wake Forest University
Project: High Temperature Induced Reactive Oxygen Species and Stress Response in Arabidopsis thaliana
Mentor: Dr. Gloria Muday
Bo Price, Utah State University
Project: Verifying signaling pathways that induce apomixis de novo in Arabidopsis
Mentor: Dr. John G. Carman
Benjamin Styler, Brown University
Project: Understanding thermotolerance in crop plants: investigating genetic variation of the unfolded protein response in vegetative tissue and pollen tubes
Mentor: Dr. Mark Johnson
Samantha Surber, University of Nebraska- Lincoln
Project: Cytosolic acidification effect on freezing tolerance through investigation of proton pump inhibition
Mentor: Dr. Rebecca Roston
Ashley Turner, University of Florida
Project: Effects of high pH stress on oxidative status in Rhododendron roots
Mentor: Dr. Gerardo Nunez
Paige Wiebe, Kansas State University
Project: Niche divergence in big bluestem grass ecotypes in response to experimental drought: Mechanisms of local adaptation
Mentor: Dr. Loretta Johnson
Kwan Yoon, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Project: Applying CRISPR/Cas9 to Unveil the Role of the Early Nodulins in Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiosis
Mentor: Dr. Dong Wang
SURFers from Primarily Undergraduate Institutions
Kristen Edgeworth, Kenyon College
Project: Assessing the Functional Conservation of ELF3-like and COP1-like Proteins from Bryophytes to Angiosperms
Mentor: Dr. Karen A. Hicks
Malay Nanavaty, The College of New Jersey
Project: Uncovering the Biochemical Function of CYP72A14 in Plant Stress Metabolism
Mentor: Dr. Leeann E. Thornton
Claire Ravenburg, James Madison University
Project: Investigating a putative dual-function β-amylase gene in rice
Mentor: Dr. Jonathan Monroe