Careers

Plant scientists call for renewed focus on empowerment of trainees

Preparing graduate students and postdocs for diverse careers Changes in the workforce are challenging academia to prepare scientists to be adaptable and adept at communicating across boundaries. To meet these demands, the Plant Science Research Network (PSRN, plantae.org/PSRN) is shifting the focus to enable trainees to take ownership of their training experiences. “Since President Lincoln … Read morePlant scientists call for renewed focus on empowerment of trainees

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!)

Candidate Search: NSF Assistant Director, Directorate for Biological Sciences (AD/BIO)

The National Science Foundation is initiating a national search for the Assistant Director for Biological Sciences (BIO) and they are seeking your assistance in the identification of visionary candidates to lead the Directorate during the coming years. The Assistant Director, BIO, manages a budget of approximately $750.0M and a portfolio comprising the various fields of … Read moreCandidate Search: NSF Assistant Director, Directorate for Biological Sciences (AD/BIO)

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

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

Celebrating women in STEM through @365womeninSTEM

From abstract algebra to zoology, women participate in science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM), but sometimes their stories are not as well known as those of their male colleagues. To remedy this, PhD student Josie Maidment is conducting a one-year Twitter education campaign called “@365womeninSTEM,” in which every day she provides a mini-biography of a … Read moreCelebrating women in STEM through @365womeninSTEM

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

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, May 2017

Jennifer Wisecaver, featured first author of A Global Co-expression Network Approach for Connecting Genes to Specialized Metabolic Pathways in Plants Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University. Education: PhD (2012) Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona. BS (2007) Biological Sciences, Humboldt State University. Non-scientific Interests: Spending time with family, friends, and … Read moreRecognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, May 2017

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, March and April 2017

Rakesh David, featured first author of Transcriptome-wide Mapping of RNA 5-Methylcytosine in Arabidopsis mRNAs and non-coding RNAs Current Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, University of Adelaide. Education: PhD, Plant Molecular Biology, Plant Science Division, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Australia. Non-scientific Interests: Cycling, cricket, movies and reading. … Read moreRecognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, March and April 2017

Jenna Gallegos Awarded 2017 ASPB/AAAS Mass Media Fellowship

Jenna E. Gallegos, from the University of California, Davis, has been selected to represent ASPB as the 2017 ASPB/AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow. She will spend 10 weeks this summer training as a science journalist at the Washington Post in Washington, D.C. In June, Jenna will earn her PhD in plant biology with … Read moreJenna Gallegos Awarded 2017 ASPB/AAAS Mass Media Fellowship

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, February 2017

Masanori Izumi, featured first author of Entire Photodamaged Chloroplasts Are Transported to the Central Vacuole by Autophagy Current Position: Assistant Professor, Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University. Education: Ph.D. (2012), Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Tohoku University, Japan. Non-scientific Interests: Playing tennis, Travel to Japanese hot springs. When I was an undergraduate student, … Read moreRecognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, February 2017

A community repository of plant illustrations

Guest post by Erin Sparks, Guillaume Lobet, Larry York and Frédéric Bouché It is midnight on a cold winter evening and you are scheduled to give a seminar at 8 am the next morning. All you are missing to complete your presentation is one last graphic to illustrate your conclusions. You wearily open Adobe Illustrator, … Read moreA community repository of plant illustrations

Alternative careers in science: My experience as an informal educator

By Courtney Price, Education & Outreach Specialist,  Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center & Center for Applied Plant Sciences, and Plantae Fellow With a passion for life science, conservation and education, my academic and professional experience has taken me on a convoluted path. That unique path has led me to my current role as the Education & … Read moreAlternative careers in science: My experience as an informal educator

Professional Development for PUI Faculty at Plant Biology 2017

As a faculty member at a primarily undergraduate institution (PUI), do you find yourself challenged to develop and nurture a research program that is both robust and richly engaging for undergraduate scientists? As a grad student or a postdoc, are you committed to (or seriously considering) pursuing a faculty position at a PUI? If so, … Read moreProfessional Development for PUI Faculty at Plant Biology 2017

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, November 2016

Recently, we’ve been profiling first authors of Plant Cell papers that are selected for In Brief summaries. Here are the first-author profiles from the November issue of The Plant Cell. Jaewook Kim, Kijong Song, and Eunae Park, featured authors of Epidermal Phytochrome B Inhibits Hypocotyl Negative Gravitropism Non-Cell Autonomously Jaewook Kim Current Position: Graduate student, … Read moreRecognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, November 2016

Recognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, October 2016

Recently, we’ve been profiling first authors of Plant Cell papers that are selected for In Brief summaries. Here are the first-author profiles from the October issue of The Plant Cell. Olivia Wilkins and Christoph Hafemeister, featured first authors of EGRINs (Environmental Gene Regulatory Influence Networks) in Rice That Function in the Response to Water Deficit, … Read moreRecognizing featured Plant Cell first authors, October 2016