Optimizing Plant Resilience
Erin Sparks Lab
Research Interests
Erin Sparks’ research uses interdisciplinary and multi-scale approaches to optimize plant resilience under abiotic and biotic stressors, for example, by applying a unique blend of principles of mechanical engineering and the genetics of root development.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Erin Sparks
Principal Investigator, Bond LSC
Associate Professor of Plant Science and Technology
Associate Member and Principle Investigator, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
phone(573) 884-1784
email esparks@missouri.edu
Erin Sparks has a BS in Biomedical Engineering, a PhD in Cell and Developmental Biology, and Postdoctoral experience in Plant Molecular Biology. Sparks’ research uses interdisciplinary and multi-scale approaches to optimize plant resilience under abiotic and biotic stressors. She was a faculty member at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute and the University of Delaware for 8 years. Sparks joined the University of Missouri as a joint faculty member with the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in 2025.
LAB MEMBERS
Research Topics
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Crop improvement and agricultural sustainability
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Developmental biomechanics
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Genomic tools and systems biology
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Multi-omics and bioinformatics tools
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Software engineering
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Crop improvement and agricultural sustainability
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Developmental biomechanics
-
Genomic tools and systems biology
-
Multi-omics and bioinformatics tools
-
Software engineering
In the news
Oct. 13, 2025
Core leads labs through bioinformatics bottleneck to better results
Bioinformatics and Analytics Core senior bioinformatics engineer Yulia Innokenteva, left, core interim director Hong An and BAC data scientist Chunhui Xu, left, pose in front of a wall of greenery at the University of Missouri Bond Life Sciences Center on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. | Photo by Evan Johnson, Division of Research By Sophie Rentschler | Division of Research Ti Lu spends her days perfecting a vaccine, giving shots to charge mouse immune systems to fight off disease, but the hefty data from her samples needs the expertise of Mizzou’s Bioinformatics and Analytics Core (BAC) to help make sense of…
Sep. 25, 2025
An intercellular snapshot
Research Specialist Kathy Rodriguez-Lukey examines mouse ovarian tumor samples using a point scanning confocal microscope Sept. 24 in the Bond LSC Advanced Light Microscopy Core. The wide scan microscope allows users to adjust the way light wavelengths are captured for more fine-tuned imaging results. | Photo by Evan Johnson, Division of Research How advanced light microscopy brings clarity to research questions By Sophie Rentschler | Division of Research Under the microscope, the slice of mouse organ tissue resembled a mix of swirling indigo sky from Van Gogh’s Starry Night mixed with one of Monet’s impressionistic water lily paintings. While it…
Sep. 16, 2025