Letter: Extrinsic and intrinsic contributors to identity in cells and people

In this interesting Letter to the Editor, Drew and Nagel explore the concept of how identities are established, and draw a comparison between the scientific identity of a person and the cellular identity of a developing guard cell. The article starts by briefly describing the cell autonomous and non-cell autonomous cues that control the differentiation of the stomatal complex. They then turn to the question of how a scientific identity is established. They observe that although the number of students from historically marginalized groups has been growing, this has not been replicated by an increase in their representation in tenure-track university positions. The authors observe that, especially for people with marginalized identities, the establishment of the scientific identity, both as recognized by peers and self-identification, is critical to their persistence in science. They then lay out several ways that individuals and organizations can promote support the establishment of the scientific identity and a more inclusive concept of a “successful scientist.” (Summary by Mary Williams @PlantTeaching.bsky.social) Plant Cell 10.1093/plcell/koag141