Plant Biology Department

Congratulations to former PBIO graduate student Karolina Heyduk, now an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawai'i at Mnoa, and PBIO faculty Jim Leebens-Mack! They were granted a prestigious FICUS award to study the molecular and metabolic dynamics of Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM), a water-saving mode of photosynthesis that could be used to improve drought tolerance in food and biofuel crops. FICUS (Facilities Integrating Collaborations for User Science) Awards are supported by the U.S. Department of Energy.

PBIO Alumnus Andrew Kaiser (B.S. 2008), now a botanist at Mojave National Preserve, CA estimates that about 1.33 million Joshua trees, about 25% of all trees, were burned in an August wildfire. According to Kaiser, recovery plans will focus on small Joshua tree plantings in selected areas and keeping the invasive red brome, likely to fuel future fires, from running wild. Read the full LA Times article here: https://www.latimes.com//mojave-desert-fire-destroys-the-h

Thank you, Lisa! After six years of exemplary leadership, Lisa Donovan handed over the reigns of the Plant Biology Department to John Burke on August 1st, 2020. During her tenure Lisa led the Department to new heights and was also instrumental in envisioning and implementing the new Integrative Plant Sciences program. Thank you for all your hard work and your many accomplishments for the Department! ... We are looking forward to continue working with you and wish you all the best for this next phase of your career!

Our thoughts are with the family of Carl Monk, who recently passed away (July 28, 1933 July 1, 2020). Carl earned a Ph.D. degree in Ecology from Rutgers University in 1957 and went on to work at the University of Florida and the University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory before joining the faculty of the Plant Biology Department at UGA. He published numerous national and international publications on the ecology of different tree species found in the Eastern U.S. before retiring from UGA as Professor Emeritus of Plant Biology in 1991. https://www.plantbio.uga.edu//carl-monk-professor-emeritus

One of the many beautiful greenhouse rooms, shared by manager Mike Boyd. The plants remain relatively unaffected by the pandemic as departments make plans to return in phases. Enjoy this gorgeous greenery!

We are very pleased to announce the election of our new director, Jim Leebens-Mack. We are all very excited to welcome Jim to the role and know that his leadership will take The Plant Center to new and exciting places!

Congratulations to Bob Schmitz! https://www.plantbio.uga.edu/directory/people/robert-schmitz

Congratulations to PBIO assistant professor, Alexander Bucksch, for receiving the 2020 Fred C. Davison Early Career Scholar Award! https://research.uga.edu/research-awar//alexander-bucksch/

Congratulations, Dr. Ye!

Congratulations to Jim Leebens-Mack!

Join us via Zoom today, May 1st, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. to hear Khang Lab graduate student Jie Zhu, who will be presenting a Thesis Defense Exit Seminar on: "Predicting microfungal evolution and ecology from genome data" We hope you'll join us!... For more details, click the link below: https://www.plantbio.uga.edu//investigating-regulation-eff

Congratulations to 2020 Distinguished Research Professor Katrien Devos! A professor of plant genetics with joint appointments in the Plant Biology Department - ...UGA and UGA Crop & Soil Sciences, Devos is an internationally recognized plant genomics researcher. She studies the structure, function and evolution of grass genomes, with a focus on cereals, bioenergy crops and halophytic turfgrasses. Learn more about her research at https://t.uga.edu/5UM

Join us via Zoom today, April 27th, at 4:00 p.m. to hear PBIO's own Douda Bensasson give a talk on: "Predicting microfungal evolution and ecology from genome data" We hope you'll join us!... For more details, click the link below: https://www.plantbio.uga.edu//predicting-microfungal-evolu