The Plant Biology specialization provides rigorous training in broad areas of plant biology. Faculty in this specialization use state-of-the-art approaches in genetics of model organisms, cell biology, proteomics, bioinformatics, and functional genomics, to study development, phytohormone signaling, metabolomics, gene regulation, epigenetics, viral and microbial pathogen-plant interactions, plant defense, biofuels, and the evolutionary origins of higher plants. As highlighted in the 2009 report on "A New Biology for the 21st Century” by the U.S. National Research Council (NRC), greater investment in plant biology research and training is critical and urgently needed in order to address major societal challenges in food security, renewable energy, protecting the environment, and human health. The Plant Biology specialization is focused on meeting these needs through research, education and graduate student training.
This specialization area is interdepartmental and interdisciplinary, including not only the core faculty members in the Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics but also faculty in the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, Department of Biology, Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research.
Our faculty members actively collaborate with researchers located in the Washington DC area including at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Smithsonian Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH), J. Craig Venter Institute, National Arboretum, Food & Drug Administration (FDA), and National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA). Our multidisciplinary and highly collaborative environment facilitates research advances and broadens educational and career opportunities for our students.
Department of Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics (CBMG)
Caren Chang, Arabidopsis, ethylene signal transduction
Todd Cooke, Evolution of developmental mechanisms
Charles F. Delwiche, Molecular systematics, phylogeny, and evolution
José Feijó, Plant Reproduction: pollen tube growth and fertilization; ion signalling
Steven Hutcheson, Biofuel, microbial genomics
June Kwak, Arabidopsis, abscisic acid signaling
Zhongchi Liu, Reproductive development in Arabidopsis and strawberry
Stephen Mount, Arabidopsis, pre-mRNA splicing
Donald Nuss, Chestnut Blight Fungus, Gene silencing
Anne Simon, Plant-virus interactions
Heven Sze, Transport and ion homeostasis in plants
Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture (PSLA)
Priscila Chaverri, Biodiversity, systematics, molecular phylogenetics, evolution of fungi
Gary Coleman, Functional genomics of forest tree development
Jose Costa, Breeding & Biotechnology
Angus Murphy, Plant hormone transport and modification of plant architecture
Maile Neel, Biodiversity and conservation
Joseph Sullivan, Plant ecophysiology
Jianhua Zhu, Abiotic stress, epigenetics, miRNA
Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research (IBBR)
James Culver, Plant-virus interactions
Shunyuan Xiao, Plant defense
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Ganesh Sriram, Metabolic engineering and systems biology
Department of Environmental Science and Technology
Wendy Peer, Plant hormone transport
Department of Biology
Michele Dudash, Plant mating system, evolution
Charles Fenster, Evolutionary process