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 2019. Congratulations to these 2018 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellows and their mentors:
SURFers from Doctoral Granting Institutions
Anastasiya Andriyash, University of New Mexico
Project: Determining the Role of Myosin XI in the Gravitropic Response of Maize
Mentor: Dr. Michelle Facette
Daniel Berkovich, Washington University in St. Louis
Project: A Biochemical Investigation of Aspartate Aminotransferases in Plants
Mentor: Dr. Joseph Jez
David Berrios, University of California, Davis
Project: Characterization of Novel Sesquiterpene Synthases and Their Role in Plant Stress Tolerance in Setaria italica
Mentor: Dr. Philipp Zerbe
Bridget Bickner, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Project: Determining the Location of Cis-regulated Mutations in Flower Color Coding Genes in Phlox drummondii
Mentor: Dr. Robin Hopkins
Edward Cruz, University of Nevada, Reno
Project: Identifying Substrates of a Putative Protein O-fucosyltransferase that is Critical for Successful Pollen Tube Penetration in Arabidopsis thaliana
Mentor: Dr. Ian Wallace
Marlo Hall, University of California San Diego
Project: Regulation of Stress-induced Anthocyanin Production by a Transcription Factor Complex
Mentor: Dr. Alisa Huffaker
Laura Janousek, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Project: Quantification of WRKY1 Alternative Splicing in Arabidopsis thaliana to Explore Phenotypic Plasticity
Mentor: Dr. Amy Marshall-Colon
Grace Johnston, Colorado State University
Project: A Genetic Screen to Identify Cytokinin-mediated Processes that Regulate the Growth-Defense Tradeoff
Mentor: Dr. Cris Argueso
Cassandra Proctor, Cornell University
Project: Investigating the Role of Replication Factor C-like Genes during Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbiosis
Mentor: Dr. Maria Harrison
Jenny Swinton, Oklahoma State University
Project: Genes for Controlling Epidermal Cell Number in Arabidopsis
Mentor: Dr. Ming Yang
Xuening Zhang, University of California, Berkeley
Project: A Critical Window for Protection? Investigating the Importance of Timing of Exposure to Microbiome-mediated Protection
Mentor: Dr. Britt Koskella
SURFers from Primarily Undergraduate Institutions
Roshani Budhathoki, Eastern Connecticut State University
Project: Characterization of Novel Chicken Foot Nodule (cfn) Mutant Defective in Root Architecture and Symbiotic Nitrogen Fixation in the Model Legume Plant Medicago Truncatula
Mentor: Dr. Vijaykumar Veerappan
Rachael Prawitz, Missouri Western State University
Project: The Role of Isoprene in Plant Development
Mentor: Dr. Csengele Barta
Antonio Serrano, Northern New Mexico College
Project: Characterization of APA Events and Gene Expression Profile in the tcab Arabidopsis Mutant
Mentor: Dr. Izaguirre-Sierra, Dr. Laura de Lorenzo
