Plantae Presents – From Dorm Rooms to Discoveries: Inspiring Undergraduates to Pursue Academic Research
Plantae Presents – From Dorm Rooms to Discoveries: Inspiring Undergraduates to Pursue Academic Research
Featuring Neha Bhatia, Kevin Cox, Jess Gersony and Jason Rauscher
When: March 26, 2025, at
7:00 AM PDT | 10:00 AM EDT | 2:00 PM GMT | 10 PM Beijing
About this Webinar
The schedule of an undergraduate student can be overwhelming and appears impossible to include time for research experience. This webinar highlights experts from academia and industry to share strategies for encouraging undergraduates to explore and make time for research opportunities. Whether you are curious about starting your first project or need help encouraging students to start research, this session will provide valuable guidance to help you take that first step.
Hosted by the 2025 Plantae Fellows.
SPEAKERS
Dr. Neha Bhatia
Dr. Neha Bhatia is a developmental biologist interested in understanding patterns and form using plants as model. She obtained her PhD in the lab of Associate Prof. Dr. Marcus Heisler at EMBL Heidelberg, Germany in November 2016, where she investigated the fundamental question of organ positioning in plants, by using genetics, time-lapse imaging, and genetic mosaics. She then joined the lab of Prof. Dr. Miltos Tsiantis at MPIPZ, Cologne, Germany as a post-doctoral researcher to investigate how diverse leaf shapes arise using time-lapse imaging and quantitative analysis of the cellular growth patterns. She has recently started her independent research group at the Sainsbury laboratory at Cambridge University, United Kingdom. By integrating genetic analyses including genetic mosaics, quantitative live imaging, and single cell omics, her lab is investigating the mechanistic basis of the function of the plant hormone cytokinin in plant aerial organ development. Email: [email protected].
Dr. Kevin Cox
Kevin is an Assistant Professor in Biology at WashU and an Assistant Member/Principal Investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. Kevin earned his Bachelor’s (B.S.) in Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2013. He then earned his PhD in Plant Pathology at Texas A&M University in Libo Shan’s lab in 2018, where he studied the molecular mechanism of a cotton disease called Bacterial Blight of Cotton. Afterwards, he joined the Danforth Center for his post-doctoral experience in Blake Meyers’ lab, where he focused on developing methods to study spatial gene expression in plants. Kevin started his role as a joint faculty member at WashU and the Danforth Center in July 2024. His lab is interested in understanding how genes are spatially organized in plant tissues and how cells use those genes to communicate with other cells, especially in response to stress. He is a recipient of the 2019 HHMI Hanna Gray Fellowship. Bluesky: @kcox-bioguy.bsky.social.
Dr. Jess Gersony
Prof. Jess Gersony is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Smith College, where she leads the PLACE (PLant Physiology, Art, and Community Engagement) Lab. Her research focuses on plant physiological responses to environmental stress, including how native Northeastern U.S. forests respond to drought and freezing stress, as well as the functioning of phloem physiology under changing environmental conditions. She earned her PhD in Plant Biology from Harvard University. In addition to her scientific work, Prof. Gersony is an accomplished poet, with publications in The Sycamore Review, Off the Coast, and The Tide Rises, and is also a former professional tap dancer, having performed with companies in New York City, Philadelphia, and Boston. Through her interdisciplinary approach, she blends plant science with the arts, fostering hands-on research, creative projects, and justice-centered community-based collaborations. Email: [email protected] | X: @Jess_Gersony.
Dr. Jason Rauscher
Dr. Rauscher joined Corteva in 2018 and has been working in R&D Academic Engagement, advancing Corteva’s recruiting, collaboration, and external scientific reputation through managing several programs, including the Corteva Symposia Series, New Frontiers Conference Series, the Corteva R&D Internship Program, and other events with students and faculty around the world. Before Corteva, Dr. Rauscher had a 20+ year career in education and research that included high school teaching in Delaware, graduate research and serving as a Fulbright Scholar in Colombia and Venezuela, and teaching at Swarthmore College and the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras where he led the Molecular Ecology and Evolution Group.
MODERATORS
Arora Gourav
Gourav is a second-year doctoral researcher in the Coupland department at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne. His work focuses on the regulation of flowering time in Arabidopsis, specifically through the FT-FD module. Originally from Haryana, Gourav completed his master’s degree at the University of Delhi, India. Passionate about science communication, Gourav enjoys sharing scientific concepts with the general public. In his free time, he loves capturing the beauty of nature through photography, particularly flowers and plants. He also enjoys watching anime, playing table tennis, and reading Hindi poetry. X: @gourav_arora_g.
Mae Antonette Mercado
Mae is a PhD Candidate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying key factors in photosynthesis evolution in wild grasses and heat stress tolerance in maize. Outside of work, she likes to do brush pen calligraphy, bake, play the ukulele, and sing. X: @mae_mercadow | Bluesky: @maemercado.bsky.social.
Malini Muthu Karpagam
Malini is a postdoctoral researcher at Smith College, Massachusetts, studying the physiological responses of Northeastern conifers to drought and cold stress. Originally from India, she holds a PhD in Plant Physiology from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, where she investigated photosynthetic traits under high-temperature stress in rice. She also enjoys science communication, cooking, and interior design. X: @malini_muthuraj.
Stephanie Temnyk
Stephanie may have just graduated with a Master’s degree in biology from Arizona State University, but considers herself a “forever student” with a passion to continually learn. Stephanie’s research background involved characterizing chloroplast-targeted genes; in fact, these were originally implicated in peptidoglycan production of the cyanobacterial plastid ancestor. Her interests always drew her to the genetic crop improvement space, however, and she is thrilled to now work for Corteva Agriscience with the PCR and Marker Technologies team. X: @STemnyk.
