Mary Williams

I studied Biochemistry at Berkeley (BA), Plant Molecular Biology at Rockefeller (PhD), did a postdoc at Berkeley with Ian Sussex, and then spent 14 years as a Biology professor at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California. In 2009 I started working at the American Society of Plant Biologists as Features Editor of the journal Plant Cell and the developer of Teaching Tools in Plant Biology. My passion lies in making it a little bit easier for students of all ages to understand plants and plant science research. I live in Glasgow, Scotland, with my family and our much adored dog.

New Teaching Tool, “Genomic Analysis of Botanical Collections”

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We are pleased to announce the release of the latest unit in the Teaching Tools in Plant Biology series, “Genomic Analysis of Botanical Collections: Opportunities and Challenges,” by Martina Deglialberti, Chiara Paleni, Federico Fainelli, Carla Lambertini, and Silvia Manrique. This Teaching Tools provides an overview of how botanical collections of all sorts can be used … Read more

Introducing the 2026 Plant Physiology Assistant Features Editors

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Plant Physiology started the Assistant Features Editor (AFE) program 8 years ago to help disseminate discoveries published in the journal and to train the next generation of editors and reviewers. Our AFEs are promising early-career scientists. They bring their passion for science to our journal, communicating to our readers each month some of the most … Read more

July 17: Plant Physiology panel discussion on Numeracy, Realism, and Relevance in Plant Science

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Plant Physiology webinar Numeracy, Realism, and Relevance in Plant Science Recorded Thursday July 17, 2025 About this panel discussion There has been a recent uptick in frustration with overclaiming and overselling at the interface between molecular plant science and agriculture. Relatedly, there is a growing disconnect between metabolic engineers and synthetic biologists who think and … Read more

May 30: Plant Cell webinar: Translating research from Arabidopsis to crop plants and beyond

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The Plant Cell webinar Translating research from Arabidopsis to crop plants and beyond Recorded Friday May 30, 2025 About This Panel Discussion Over the past three decades, substantial research efforts in plant science worldwide have focused on the model system Arabidopsis thaliana.  Many of us have invested years in the study of Arabidopsis, driven by … Read more

February 13: Plant Physiology webinar, Plant Lipids

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Plant Physiology Webinar Plant Lipids: Signaling and Metabolism Celebrating the February 2025 Focus Issue on Plant Lipids Recorded Thursday, February 13, 2025   About This Webinar The February 2025 issue of Plant Physiology, edited by Aruna Kilaru, Ana Laxalt, Sébastien Mongrand, and Teun Munnik, spotlights research on plant lipids. Plant lipids play a pivotal role … Read more