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 “Computational Image Processing in Microscopy”

We’re excited to announce the publication of The Plant Cell’s latest Teaching Tool, “Computational Image Processing in Microscopy,” by Adrienne Roeder, available without subscription at Plantae.org (and in the October issue of The Plant Cell). The age of big data includes sophisticated imaging datasets. Computational image processing is essential for extracting quantitative information from these … Read moreNew Teaching Tool “Computational Image Processing in Microscopy”

New Teaching Tool: “Molecular Control of Plant Shoot Architecture”

We’re excited to announce the publication of The Plant Cell’s latest Teaching Tool, “Molecular Control of Plant Shoot Architecture,” by Agustin Zsögön and Lázaro E. P. Peres, available without subscription at Plantae.org. Manipulation of plant form and height has been instrumental in the domestication and improvement of crops. The balance between growth of vegetative (stems, … Read moreNew Teaching Tool: “Molecular Control of Plant Shoot Architecture”

ASPB Wins The 2018 Gold EXCEL award for the Plantae podcast, The Taproot, from Association Media and Publishing

ASPB is pleased to announce that The Taproot, a Plantae podcast, has received a Gold EXCEL award for excellence in DIGITAL MEDIA: Podcast (Other category) from the Association Media and Publishing. The EXCEL Awards recognize excellence and leadership in nonprofit association media, publishing, marketing, and communications. Winners received their awards during the Annual EXCEL Awards … Read moreASPB Wins The 2018 Gold EXCEL award for the Plantae podcast, The Taproot, from Association Media and Publishing

ASPB in China

Representatives of ASPB will be attending two major conferences in China this October. The first is the National Congress of Plant Biology (NCPB; http://www.ncpb.net/2018/index.php/Index/), to be held October 18 – 22 in Tai’an, China, and the second is the World Life Science Conference (WLSC; http://wlsc2018.csi.org.cn/), to be held October 27 – 29 in Beijing, China. … Read moreASPB in China

CALL FOR PAPERS! The Plant Cell 30th Anniversary Collection: Rethinking the Past and Shaping the Future of Plant Biology

CALL FOR PAPERS! The Plant Cell 30th Anniversary Collection: Rethinking the Past and Shaping the Future of Plant Biology Deadline for submission: June 30, 2019 In celebration of 30 years of publishing the best research in plant molecular, cellular, and developmental biology, we encourage authors to submit their most exciting new results for consideration for a … Read moreCALL FOR PAPERS! The Plant Cell 30th Anniversary Collection: Rethinking the Past and Shaping the Future of Plant Biology

ASPB Conviron Scholars Program: Highlights of the 2017-2018 program

The experience from the ASPB Conviron Scholars program serves as a foundation for a career in plant science. The scholarship consisted of the four major themes: 1) Career Planning 2) Writing and Communications 3) Leadership 4) Effective Presentations  Within each theme, the participants read collections of articles, attended webinars and completed assignments within a private Plantae Network. The assignments required … Read moreASPB Conviron Scholars Program: Highlights of the 2017-2018 program

Gene Boosts Rice Growth and Yield in Salty Soil

Discovery of a gene that helps rice plants grow in salty soil paves the way to developing salt-tolerant crops Soil salinity poses a major threat to food security, greatly reducing the yield of agricultural crops. Rising global temperatures are expected to accelerate the buildup of salt in soil, placing an increasing burden on agricultural production. … Read moreGene Boosts Rice Growth and Yield in Salty Soil

New approach to improve nitrogen use, enhance yield, and promote flowering in rice

Expression of the nitrate transporter gene OsNRT1.1A improves yield and accelerates maturation. Using nitrogen fertilizer increases crop yields, but excess runoff causes environmental pollution. Moreover, in grains such as rice, large amounts of nitrogen fertilizer can delay flowering, leaving the crop vulnerable to late-season cold weather. A recent study in The Plant Cell identified a … Read moreNew approach to improve nitrogen use, enhance yield, and promote flowering in rice

Fanconi Anemia: Insight From a Green Plant

Model plant studies show key protein functions in the exchange of genetic material Fanconi anemia is a human genetic disorder with severe effects, including an increased risk of cancer and infertility. Work in animal systems has identified many factors involved in Fanconi anemia and showed that these factors function in the repair of DNA. However, … Read moreFanconi Anemia: Insight From a Green Plant

Top altmetric scoring papers from The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology – 2017

The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) is a not-for-profit member society, and the publisher of two the top plant science journals, The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology. ASPB is also a member of the Scientific Society Publisher Alliance (SSPA). Like other society-published journals, ASPB’s journals provide authors with the opportunity to have their work … Read moreTop altmetric scoring papers from The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology – 2017

Fond farewell to Patti Lockhart, ASPB Managing Editor

The staff and editorial boards of ASPB, The Plant Cell, and Plant Physiology would like to offer our appreciation and best wishes to Patti Lockhart, who is leaving her position as managing editor of the ASPB journals for a new opportunity at the Transportation Resource Board of the National Academies. Patti has been with ASPB … Read moreFond farewell to Patti Lockhart, ASPB Managing Editor

Summer undergraduate researcher update (applications open now!)

This article is by guest author Abigail Miller, whose ASPB-funded research has just been published in Nature Communications. Congratulations Abigail! Applications for the summer undergradate research fellowships are new being accepted, through March 15, 2018. Learn more here. The American Society of Plant Biologists Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship award (SURF) was a great experience for … Read moreSummer undergraduate researcher update (applications open now!)

Next Generation of Training for Arabidopsis Researchers: Bioinformatics and Quantitative Biology

In a new Commentary in Plant Physiology, Friesner et al. write a compelling vision for next-generation training for plant scientists. We asked three of the 39 authors, Joanna Friesner, Molly Megrew and Siobhan Brady, to tell us about their motivations and goals for writing this commentary. You and several other authors (see the full list … Read moreNext Generation of Training for Arabidopsis Researchers: Bioinformatics and Quantitative Biology

Scholarly Publishers Join Forces to Launch Scientific Society Publisher Alliance (SSPA) Initiative Aims to Promote Awareness and Support of Society-Sponsored Journals

A group of prestigious not-for-profit scientific membership societies today announced the launch of the Scientific Society Publisher Alliance (SSPA) (byscientistsforscience.org), an initiative focused on building awareness of and support for publication of scientific research by scientist-run scientific societies. The SSPA started as a collaboration of scientific societies that came together to reinforce and communicate the … Read moreScholarly Publishers Join Forces to Launch Scientific Society Publisher Alliance (SSPA) Initiative Aims to Promote Awareness and Support of Society-Sponsored Journals

ASPB/AAAS 2018 Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows Program

Are you interested in science writing? Do you want to help people understand complex scientific issues? Apply for the ASPB/AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows Program and learn how to increase public understanding of science and technology. Fellows in the 10-week 2018 summer program will work as reporters, researchers, and production assistants in mass … Read moreASPB/AAAS 2018 Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows Program

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, July 2017

Elizabeth Henry, featured first author of Direct and Indirect Visualization of Bacterial Effector Delivery into Diverse Plant Cell Types During Infection Current Position: Postdoctoral Scholar, Discovery and Project Support in Crop Efficiency and Seed Growth, Biologics R&D at Bayer Crop Science. Education: PhD (2016) Plant Pathology, University of California at Davis. BS (2008) Botany, University … Read moreRecognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, July 2017

My experiences as a PlantingScience mentor

PlantingScience is an online mentoring program that virtually connects scientists with junior high or high school students as they participate in inquiry-based activities with plants. Mentors commit to an hour or so per week over roughly two to four weeks, during which they respond to student questions and help them design and interpret their experiments. … Read moreMy experiences as a PlantingScience mentor

Career-building opportunities for plant scientists – apply now!

Publications are important, but these days it takes more than a couple of nice papers to move your career to the next level. Also, increasingly scientists are looking outside the (academic) box for their next career move. ASPB provides many ways through which scientist can build their careers and diversify their skills. Here are a … Read moreCareer-building opportunities for plant scientists – apply now!

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, June 2017

Guotian Li, Rashmi Jain, and Mawsheng Chern, featured first authors of The Sequences of 1504 Mutants in the Model Rice Variety Kitaake Facilitate Rapid Functional Genomic Studies Guotian Li Current Position: Deputy Director of Grass Genetics/Project Scientist at the Joint BioEnergy Institute, a joint position between Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, … Read moreRecognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, June 2017

Applications open for 2017-2018 Plantae Fellows

Are you a creative, articulate and web-savvy plant scientist looking to connect with other like-minded folks? We need your help to nurture and grow Plantae, the online community for the global plant science community.  We are looking for individuals who are interested in being highly engaged contributors by curating content and facilitating discussions. The benefits … Read moreApplications open for 2017-2018 Plantae Fellows