ASPB’s 2022 Election Results

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Many thanks to those members who took the time to vote this summer; and hearty congratulations to our incoming president-elect, Leeann Thornton, and secretary-elect, Ian Wallace! Additionally, the recognition of Tzyy Jen Chiou, Andreas Schaller, and Nicholas Smirnoff as Enid MacRobbie Corresponding members was overwhelmingly ratified by the ASPB membership. Leann and Ian will begin … Read more

From Plant Biology 2022: Creating an Inspiring Scientific Environment to Discuss Climate-Smart Agriculture

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Highlights of the ASPB African Researchers Network Workshop and Hackathon   By Sessen Daniel Iohannes and Modesta Abugu Current agricultural ecosystems are threatened by ongoing climate change and weather extremes that affect crop production, biodiversity, and dynamics of pests and diseases. We need to rethink how we do agriculture to bridge the gap between productivity, … Read more

From Plant Biology 2022: Tangled Up In Plant Immunity at the CSPB/SCBV President’s Plenary ‘Interacting and Tangled Plant Immune Pathways’

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By Sarah Courbier, PhD Each year, 10% to 30% of crops are lost to pathogens and pests worldwide, and these losses are only increasing with climate change. To maintain food security, it is crucial to fully understand how plants detect and respond to pathogen infections. Pioneering work from Jones and Dangl (2006) have shed light … Read more

ASPB Backs LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act, Now Referred in Senate

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On June 13, 2022, ASPB, together with 90 scientific organizations, signed a letter in support of the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act. The bill would require federal surveys to include data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity on a voluntary basis and ensure that lawmakers and federal agencies have the comprehensive data they need to … Read more

$1.5 Billion Program Will Support up to 150 ECRs Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

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The Howard Hughes Medical Institute made waves with the announcement of its Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program, a new program supporting early career researchers (ECRs) who fulfill the program’s goals of not only advancing their fields of research but also “diversity, equity, and inclusion through their mentorship and understanding of the experiences of trainees from races … Read more

Meet the ASPB President-Elect Candidates for 2022

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Belonging to ASPB brings more than discounts for attending Plant Biology meetings or publishing in the Society’s journals. Our members form a community of dedicated individuals who, like you, work together to support and nurture an engaged, vibrant, and thriving community of plant scientists. By getting involved in ASPB and by voting in our elections, you will be helping to shape the future of the Society and the plant science community as a whole.
On Monday, June 27, 2022 we held a live, online “Meet the ASPB President-Elect Candidates” event to get to know the candidates for ASPB president-elect. Before you vote, take some time to learn about the candidates for President-elect by watching the webinar recording and/or reading 2022 Election Brochure.
Voting is open until July 20, 2022 at excom.aspb.org. Not a member yet? Join here! aspb.org/membership 
If you have any additional questions, please comment below or email info@aspb.org
ASPB’s elected officers represent your interests and priorities as members; they work for you!

CANDIDATES

Leeann Thornton

Leeann Thornton is a professor of biology at The College of New Jersey and the director of the first-year seminar program.

Laura Wayne
Laura Wayne is an Associate Laureate and the Oils Discovery Leader at Corteva Agriscience in Johnston, IA.

 

MODERATOR


Deisiany Ferreira Neres
Deisiany Ferreira Neres is a PhD candidate in the Biological Systems Engineering department at Virginia Tech University. She has recently joined the ASPB’s Ambassador Alliance where she hopes to be in close contact with the scientific community and contribute to it.

Funding Opportunity: USDA Releases FY 2022 Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative RFA

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) released a request for applications (RFA) for the fiscal year (FY) 2022 Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative (AG2PI). AG2PI aims to advance scientific understanding of genomes and phenomes of plants and animals of significance to American agriculture. This is the second RFA … Read more

President’s Letter—The Power of Communication

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The undeniable reality is that meaningful science cannot be siloed, and scientists cannot operate in a socioeconomic and political void. In principle, the success of science in society requires two pillars: scientific achievement and clear communication of outcomes to the public. The paramount importance of clear communication has been long recognized; for example, the Greek … Read more

ASPB Signs Letter to Eliminate Barriers to FDA’s Draft Guidance on Gene Editing

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On April 19, 2022, the Ag Biotech Alliance, of which ASPB is a member, sent a letter to key members of Congress to include in the Fiscal Year 2023 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (Agriculture) Appropriations bill to provide the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the necessary resources to … Read more

2022 Women’s Young Investigator Travel Award Winners

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Each year, ASPB’s Women in Plant Biology Committee makes travel awards to enable early career women investigators to attend the Plant Biology conference. The goal of the competitive process that underpins the Women’s Young Investigator Travel Award (WYITA) program is to increase the attendance of early career women investigators at Plant Biology meetings by providing … Read more

Congratulations to ASPB’s 2022 Award Recipients

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ASPB is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2022 awards, which honor distinction in service, outreach, education, and research.   Adolph E. Gude Jr. Award Beronda Montgomery, Michigan State University   Charles Albert Shull Award Lucia Strader, Duke University   Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award Peggy Lemaux, University of California, Berkley   Charles … Read more

Applications now open for Plant BLOOME Grant

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Applications are now open for ASPB’s Plant Biology Learning Objectives, Outreach Materials & Education (BLOOME) grant! BLOOME provides up to $7,000 to fund the development of curricular materials to support teaching the newly revised Principles for Teaching Plant Biology in K-12 and undergraduate classrooms. The proposed classroom activities/labs must include the following elements: Clearly stated … Read more

Apply for an ASPB SURF Award!

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The ASPB Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURFs) fund promising undergraduate students to conduct research in plant biology during the early part of their college careers. Successful applicants receive a $4,000 summer stipend, membership in ASPB, and $700 (paid to the mentor or their institution) for materials and supplies. Each fellowship also provides a $575 stipend … Read more

Strategies for Writing Better Abstracts Webinar Recording

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Current and former members of the ASPB Program and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committees shared their insights on what makes an abstract compelling and engaging and how to appeal to the broad audience expected at Plant Biology 2022, taking place in Portland, Oregon, July 9­–13. The goal of the webinar was to encourage and assist researchers across the … Read more

President’s Letter—The Uniting Power of Green

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Climate change knows no borders. This obvious truth, and the well-recognized impacts of global warming on agriculture and food security, as well as the broad scope of individual and organizational efforts to ameliorate this urgent threat, were on display at the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow on October 31–November … Read more

ASPB Board of Directors Decision on IPMB2022

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As a leading society in our field, ASPB has an obligation to advocate not only for plant science, but also for plant scientists. We are not fulfilling our obligations to the latter if we stand by as members from groups that have been historically marginalized continue to face exclusionary practices, taunting, and harassment from others … Read more

A Follow-Up Regarding IPMB2022

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Late last week, a passionate conversation erupted around a critically important topic in the plant science community: diversity and the inclusion of minoritized groups in visible roles at conferences, including IPMB2022. ASPB has been tagged in the conversations, and our delay in responding—our silence—allowed an unacceptable situation to get worse. Although ASPB has been assisting … Read more

Apologies to Thelma Madzima and the entire community from Katie Dehesh, ASPB President

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As the President of ASPB, I’m writing to offer my sincere apologies to Thelma Madzima and the entire community. The recent events in regard to IPMB have demonstrated our shortcomings and urgent need to address the issue of diversity and inclusion, and our obligation to address the social and moral challenges we are facing. The … Read more

ASPB Award Nominations Are Open

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Nominations are now being accepted for the 2022 ASPB Awards. The deadline is February 25, 2022, so please submit your nominations as soon as possible. It is important that ASPB honor the most notable achievements and contributions of plant scientists worldwide – a responsibility that we carry out in large part through our annual awards … Read more