#plantscience
March 25, 2022
#IAmScience: Kathryn Vanden Hoek
By Karly Balslew | Bond LSC Kathryn Vanden Hoek proves that it is never too early to dive into research if you have a passion for it. The undergraduate research assistant started hands-on research her freshman year through the Freshman Research in Plants Programs (FRIPS). This program introduces new students to plant research and exposes them to a lab setting. She matched with the Chris Pires lab at Bond LSC in January of 2021. “I absolutely love it,” Vanden Hoek said. “I knew for a long time that I wanted to do research, so…
Feb. 25, 2022
#I Am Science Mariam Teme
By: Karly Balslew | Bond LSC Mariam Teme’s passion for plants started while growing up in Mali, West Africa, as she watched her father — an agricultural economist — interact with plants daily in the lush area where she grew up. “It’s like my own little bubble of peace when I’m surrounded by plants,” Teme said. Teme, now a member of the Bing Yang lab, planned to study agriculture for her bachelor’s degree but her university in Istanbul, Turkey, only offered genetics and bioengineering. However, integrated it with plant life for her future career. “I thought…
Feb. 24, 2022
Another piece of the pathway: Stacey lab identifies enzyme key to regulating plant metabolism
Researcher Sung-Hwan Cho holds mutant Arabidopsis thalianas. The Gary Stacey lab used these mutant variations to study how plants react to external stressors. | Photo by Karly Balslew, Bond LSC By: Karly Balslew | Bond LSC When we get hurt, our body signals our brain to warn us about stress and damage. We acknowledge the damage and then initiate the proper steps to heal. Plants may have different receptors that read these stress signals, but the process is similar. “When someone crushes the plant tissue, this triggers their immune system like us,” said Sung-Hwan…