Recognizing Plant Physiology authors: Román Ramos Báez

Román Ramos Báez, first author of A synthetic approach allows rapid characterization of the maize nuclear auxin response circuit

Current Position: PhD Candidate, Department of Biology, University of Washington, Seattle, Seattle, WA, United States of America

Education: B.S. Biochemistry and Biotechnology, University of California—Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States of America

Non-scientific Interests: Cooking, costume design, drag performer

Brief bio:  I started my career in plant genetics at UC Berkeley working with floral morphology genes, and characterizing the pathway for salicylic acid biosynthesis. Currently, I am a graduate student in Jennifer Nemhauser’s lab. I use synthetic biology techniques to answer questions about plant growth and development responses. Specifically, I have been working on characterizing the function of plant auxin receptors in monocots, and more broadly across flowering plants. My scientific interests include plant hormone responses, protein function and evolution, cellular biology, synthetic biology, and plant development.