Recognizing Plant Physiology authors: Abira Sahu

Abira Sahu, co-first author of Spatial profiles of phosphate in roots indicate developmental control of uptake, recycling, and sequestration

Current Position: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan

Education: PhD, Biology, Texas A&M University, USA; Tech, Biotechnology, Heritage Institute of Technology, India

Non-scientific Interests: drawing cartoons and reading

Brief bio: My journey in plant biology began in 2015 when I joined Dr. Wayne Versaw’s lab at Texas A&M University as a PhD student. For my PhD dissertation, I studied cytosolic phosphate homeostasis in Arabidopsis thaliana roots. I used a FRET-based phosphate biosensor and fluorescence microscopy to quantify phosphate uptake, recycling, and vacuolar sequestration in root developmental zones. I found that vacuolar sequestration is a primary regulator of cytosolic phosphate distribution. I also studied phosphate dynamics and distribution in root hairs. I recently graduated from TAMU and will continue my academic career as a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Erik Nielsen’s lab at University of Michigan.