Authors: JP Dundore-Arias, Jacque Fletcher, and Brett Tyler This article originally appeared in Phytopathology News (May 2019, Volume 53, Issue 5) “The goal of a sustainable future, with a more nimble and innovative workforce and a highly competitive research enterprise, is in the national interest….…

What tools and skills do tomorrow’s plant scientists need, and how can we as a community ensure that today’s students get appropriate training? The Plant Science Research Network (PSRN), a consortium of plant science organizations and societies, has organized a series of workshops and discussions…

Preparing graduate students and postdocs for diverse careers Changes in the workforce are challenging academia to prepare scientists to be adaptable and adept at communicating across boundaries. To meet these demands, the Plant Science Research Network (PSRN, plantae.org/PSRN) is shifting the focus…

The Plant Science Research Network (PSRN) was established in August 2015 through the support of a National Science Foundation Research Coordination Network (RCN) award to the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) and the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), to further the goals outlined in the 2013…

A hands-on activity posted by Lucas Busta @PlantsRChemists In this activity, participants will work with test tubes of red cabbage juice to determine the pH of various other (plant-based) liquids and solutions. It's a fun activity for all ages - even if participants are too young to understand acid/base…

PLOS One. Katharine Hubbard (@KEHplantsci) and Sonja Dunbar (@PlantSciSonja) are enthusiastic proponents of student-centered teaching, including guiding undergraduate students through the reading of scientific papers. In this new work they’ve evaluated how  undergraduate students compare to graduate…

In a new Commentary in Plant Physiology, Friesner et al. write a compelling vision for next-generation training for plant scientists. We asked three of the 39 authors, Joanna Friesner, Molly Megrew and Siobhan Brady, to tell us about their motivations and goals for writing this commentary. You…

Today’s biology students need to be trained to work with large datasets, meaning that mathematics, statistics and computer science should regularly be integrated into their biology courses. Williams et al. carried out a survey to determine the extent to which this occurs. Although 95% of respondents…