Awards

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Graduate Student & Postdoc Research Grant Awards

Bri Heron

Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science

“TELing the story of meristem regulation in Arabidopsis thaliana”

Meher Ony

Entomology and Plant Pathology

“Metabolomics of the oak wilt disease complex: deciphering the silent battles of oak hosts against fungal pathogen Bretziella fagacearum

Andrew Reed

Food Science

“A Novel Approach for Engineering Logic-Gates for Phytosensors.”

Ella Segal

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

“Characterizing mycorrhizal communities along a latitudinal gradient for 10 dominant tree species in the eastern United States.”

Sarah Love

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

“Utilizing the SI-MC comparative natural laboratory to identify plant-microbial interactions important to ecosystem-level resilience to climate change.”

Rounak Patra

Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science

“Unravelling Microbial Mechanisms in Agricultural Subsoil Organic Carbon Storage”

Holly Brabazon

Entomology and Plant Pathology Department

“Population genetic structure and evolutionary history of a unique Theobroma cacao population”

Tracy Hawk

Department of Plant Sciences

“A Potential New Regulator of Programmed Cell Death in the Soybean Cyst Nematode Induced-Syncytium”

Advisor- Tarek Hewezi

Olena Korotych

Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology

“Supramolecular membrane protein complexes isolated from thylakoid membranes with surface-active styrene-maleic acid copolymers”

Advisor- Barry Bruce

Amie Sankoh

Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology

“Elucidating the importance of cell-to-cell trafficking in nodule development and nitrogen fixation”

Advisor- Tessa Burch-Smith

Ansul Lokdarshi

Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology

“Biochemical role of Arabidopsis eukaryotic initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2a) phosphorylation in Pseudomonas syringae infection”

Advisor- Albrecht bon Arnim

Daniel DeGennaro

Department of Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology

“A ligand receptor pair organizes auxin to control plant shape”

Advisor- Elena Shpak

Katherine Moccia

Department of Microbiology

“Identifying the Dynamic Genetic Mechanisms Involved in Pantoea sp. R4 Colonization of Medicago truncatula Over Time”

Advisor- Sarah Lebeis

Morgan Roche
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
“Effect of allelopathic plant invader on ecological networks”
Advisor – Susan Kalisz

Bridget O’Banion
Department of Microbiology
“Assessing the role of chemotaxis and spatial organization in root-microbiome assembly”
Advisor – Sarah Lebeis 

Scott Carlew

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
“SEM Analysis of root colonization of Azospirillum brasilense with altered ethylene perception”
Advisor – Brad Binder  

Brandon C. Reagan
Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology 

“Tobacco mosaic virus and the de novo formation of secondary plasmodesmata”
Advisor – Tessa Burch-Smith 

Tessa Burch-Smith & Tarek Hewezi
Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology 
Department of Plant Sciences
“Investigating the effects of altered intracellular trafficking on pathogen susceptibility”

Andreas Nebenfuehr & Joe Williams
Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology 
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology”
Myosins and the Evolution of Pollen Tube Growth”

Nikki Labbe, Neal Stewart, Georges Guiochon, & Abhijit Tarafder
Center for Renewable Carbon
Department of Plant SciencesDepartment of Chemistry
“Fractioation of Transgenic Switchgrass for biofuels & bioproducts production”

Travel Fellowship Awards

Viann Yomani

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Botany
Tucson, AZ
Advisor – Dr. Joe Williams

Alexandra Teodor

Department of Genome Science and Technology
70th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Elecreochemistry (Advantages in Bioelectrochemistry Symposium)
Durban, South Africa
Advisor – Dr. Berry Bruce

Rachel Swenie

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Mycological Society of America Annual Meeting
Minneapolis, MN
Advisor – Dr. Brandon Matheny

Mst Shamira Sultana

Department of Plant Sciences
The Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB)
Tampa, FL
Advisor – Dr. Neal Stewart

Margaret Spangler

Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology 2019
San Jose, CA 
Advisor – Dr. Dan Roberts

Brandon Reagan

Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Vascular Biology
Asilomar, CA
Advisor – Dr. Tessa Burch-Smith

Marcia Quinby

Department of Plant Sciences
ASA – Agronomy Annual Meeting
San Antonio, TX
Advisor – Renata Nave Oakes

Swati Mishra

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
SIP Annual Conference 2019
Valencia, Spain
Advisor – Dr. Juan Luis Jurat-Frentes

Chelsea Miller

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Joine meeting of the Ecological Society of America and United States for Ecological Economics
Louisville, KY
Advisor – Dr. Charles Kwit

Jessica Fernandez

Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology 2019
San Jose, CA
Advisor – Dr. Tessa Burch-Smith

Anwesha Dasgupta

Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology 2019
San Jose, CA
Advisor – Dr. Albrecht Burch-Smith

Nourolah Soltani

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
APS – Plant Health 2019
Cleveland, OH
Advisor – Dr. Kimberly Gwinn

Zachary Beamer

Department of Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology
ASPB Plant Biology 2019
San Jose, CA
Advisor – Dr. Dan Roberts

Amanda Benoit

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ecological Society of America
Louisville, KY
Advisor – Susan Kalisz

Kathrerine Moccia

Department of Microbiology
IS-MPMI
Glasgow, Scotland
Advisor – Dr. Sarah Lebeis

Craig Conner

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology 2018 
Advisor – Daniel Roberts

Jessica Fernandez

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 
Advisor – Tessa Burch-Smith

Sterling Field

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology 2018​
Advisor – Daniel Roberts

Fang Liu

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
21st Penn State Biology Symposium
Advisor – Meg Staton

Chelsea Miller

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Ecological Society of America
Advisor – Charles Kwitt

Celeste Rodriguez

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology 2018​
Advisor – Brad Binder

Nourolah Soltani

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
International Congress of Plant Pathology 2018
Advisor – Kimberly Gwinn

Rachel Swenie

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
International Mycological Conference
Advisor – Brandon Matheny

Jiali Yu

Department of Genome Science and Technology
9th International Rosaceae Genomics Conference
Advisor – Meg Staton​

Cidney Allen

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Sensory Transduction in Microorganisms Gordon Research Conference 
Advisor – Brad Binder

Ming Chen

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
Galaxy Community Conference & Bioinformatics Open Source Conference
Advisor – Meg Staton

Jyotirmoy Mondal

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
The 27th Annual Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce

Rena Abdurehma

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Gordon Research Conference
Advisor – Brad Binder

Cidney Allen

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology Conference
Advisor – Brad Binder

Arkadipta Bakshi

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology Conference
Advisor – Brad Binder

Nate Brady

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
26th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce

Ramya Enganti

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology Conference
Advisor – Albrecht von Arnim

Jessica Fernandez

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Southern Section ASPB
Advisor – Tessa Burch-Smith

Sterling Field

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology Conference
Advisor – Daniel Roberts

Emma Harrower

Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Fungal Network of NZ, 31st Foray and Colloquium
Advisor – Brandon Matheny

Chelsea Johnson

Department of Plant Sciences
CROPS 2017
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Hailee Korotkin

Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Fungal Network of NZ, 31st Foray and Colloquium
Advisor  – Brandon Matheny

Pawel Kosentka

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
International Conference on Arabidopsis Research
Advisor – Elena Shpak

Kane Lawhorn

Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries
Association of Southeastern Biologists
Advisor – Charlie Kwit

Brian Looney

Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Fungal Network of NZ, 31st Foray and Colloquium
Advisor – Brandon Matheny

Chelsea Miller

Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries
Association of Southeastern Biologists
Advisor – Charlie Kwit

Jyotirmoy Mondal

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
26th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce

Hannah Mullally

Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries
Association of Southeastern Biologists
Advisor – Charlie Kwit

Jonathan Nguyen

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
26th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce

Thomas Payne

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
International Conference on Arabidopsis Research
Advisor – Andreas Nebenfuhr

Brandon Reagan

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Southeastern Section ASPB
Advisor – Tessa Burch-Smith

Tammy Stackhouse

Department of Plant Sciences
Society for In Vitro Biology
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Shamira Sultana

Department of Plant Sciences
Society for In Vitro Biology
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Rachel Swenie

Department Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Fungal Network of NZ, 31st Foray and Colloquium
Advisor – Brandon Matheny

Alexandra Teodor

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Plant Biology Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce

Anna Vick

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Advanced Imaging Workshop for Pollen and Tip-Growth Biology
Advisor – Andreas Nebenfuhr

Liang Zhang

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
International Conference on Arabidopsis Research
Advisor – Elena Shpak

Arkadipta Bakshi


Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
American Society for Plant Biologist Annual Meeting
Advisor – Brad Binder 

Jason Burris

Department of Plant Sciences
Sociey for In Vitro Biology Annual Meeting
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Ming Chen

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology
Galaxy Community Conference 2016
Advisor – Meg Staton

Ramya Enganti

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
American Society for Plant Biologist Annual Meeting
Advisor – Albrecht von Arnim

Valerie Garcia-Negron

Department of Forestry, Wildlife, and Fisheries
2016 The World Conference on Carbon at State College, Pennsylvania, USAAdvisor – David Harper

Chelsea Johnson

Department of Plant Sciences
American Society for Plant Biologist Annual Meeting
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Pawel Kosentka

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Frontiers & Techniques in Plant Science
Advisor – Elena Shpak

Randy Lacey

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology​
International Plant Growth Substances Association Meeting
Advisor – Brad Binder

Reggie Millwood

Department of Plant Sciences
American Society for Plant Biologist Annual Meeting
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Sarbo Piya

Department of Plant Sciences
American Phytopathological Society annual meeting
Advisor – Tarek Hewezi

Jennifer​ Ryan

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
Gordon Research Conference
Advisor – Andreas Nebenfuehr

Jason Burris

Department of Plant Sciences
ARPA-E Innovation Summit
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Ming Chen

Department of Plant and Animal
Genome XXII
Advisor – Meg Staton

Kristen Holbrook

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
25th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce 

Randy Lacey

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
​Gordon Research Seminar
Advisor – Brad Binder

Meng Li

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology 
25th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce

Gabriela Little

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
​25th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce 

Yue Ma

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology 
25th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce 

Jyotirmoy Mondal

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology 
25th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce 

Khoa Nguyen

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology 
25th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce 

Erika Sanders

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology 
25th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce

Jeneen Abrams

Department of Plant Sciences
ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meetings
Advisor – Vince Pantalone

Jason Burris

Department of Plant Sciences
Plant and Animal Genome Conference
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Gracie Collins

Department of Plant Sciences
Plant and Animal Genome Conference
Advisor – Neal Stewart 

Joshua Grant

Department of Plant Sciences
Plant and Animal Genome Conference
Advisor – Neal Stewart 

Qidoong Jia

Department of Plant Sciences
​Plant and Animal Genome Conference
Advisor – Feng Chen 

Doug Kaylor

Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries
American Geophysical Union Annual Meeting
Advisor – Jennifer Franklin

Gabriela Little

Department of Biochemistry, Cellular and Molecular Biology
24th Western Photosynthesis Conference
Advisor – Barry Bruce ​

Gaia Pigna

Department of Plant Sciences
RNA Silencing in Plants (G1) Keystone Resort
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Carolina Rempe

Department of Plant Sciences
SERMACS
Advisor – Neal Stewart

Marisol Sanchez-Garcia

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
VIII Latin American Congress of Mycology
Advisor – Brandon Matheny ​​

Chris Smallwood

Department of Plant Sciences
ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meetings
Advisor – Vince Pantalone