Tribute—Chunhua Zhang

1977–2021 ASPB and the international plant biology community have lost one of their brightest and best stars, Chunhua Zhang, assistant professor of botany and plant pathology at Purdue University. Chunhua was diagnosed with late-stage pancreatic cancer in February 2021 shortly after giving birth to her fourth child. She did everything in her power to fight … Read more

President’s Letter—Code Red

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called the Sixth Assessment Report, released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in August, a “code red for humanity” (IPCC, 2021). With improved knowledge of climate processes, paleoclimate evidence, and increasing radiative forcing (change in the energy flux in the atmosphere caused by climate change), some uncertainties in … Read more

ASPB and partners awarded $2 million NSF grant to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the plant sciences

By Mary Williams and Crispin Taylor, with graphics designed by Siobhan Braybrook We are excited to announce that ASPB, along with our partners, has been awarded a five-year grant through the NSF’s LEAPS [LEAding cultural change through Professional Societies (LEAPS) of Biology] program. As the lead organization, ASPB has the privilege of coordinating the development … Read more

PB21 Workshop and Hackathon on Improving Orphan Crops to Foster Bioeconomies

organized by the ASPB African Researchers Network, in collaboration with OCP North America Orphan crops offer promising opportunities to tackle critical challenges of our time, including food insecurity, climate change and economic instability. Despite their nutritional properties, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses and adherence to local food cultures and low-input production systems, these crops … Read more

Please Share Your Thoughts with Us

Thank you for taking the time to read ASPB President Maureen McCann’s letter regarding the ASPB Board of Director’s recent decision to reaffirm a commitment to holding Plant Biology 2023 in Savannah, GA. Now that you’ve done so, we’d welcome your thoughts on the approaches that ASPB should take toward identifying future conference venues and … Read more