Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Rachel Shahan

Rachel Shahan, first author of Consensus co-expression networks provide insights into wild strawberry flower and fruit development

Current Position: Postdoctoral researcher, Biology Department, Duke University

Education: PhD in molecular genetics at the University of Maryland (2018), BS in Biology at Virginia Tech (2011)

Non-scientific Interests: Traveling, reading, and trying to brew the perfect cup of coffee

Bio: I became interested in plants as a high school student while working on a farm. I was curious about flowers and fruit; how can a mature plant make new organs? After learning a few of the finer details of post-embryonic organogenesis as an undergraduate, I completed my PhD research in the lab of Zhongchi Liu at the University of Maryland. My thesis explored the molecular regulation of early fruit development using Fragaria vesca, a diploid strawberry, as a model. This summer, I’m making the transition from strawberry shoots to Arabidopsis roots. I am excited to delve into the regulation of cell differentiation as a postdoc in the lab of Philip Benfey at Duke University.