Stephen Deslauriers: Plant Direct First Author

Stephen Deslauriers, first author of “Electrophysiological study of Arabidopsis ABCB4 and PIN2 auxin transporters: Evidence of auxin activation and interaction enhancing auxin selectivity”

Current Position: Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Minnesota Morris

Education: B.S. Biology (University of California, Riverside); Ph.D. Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology (University of California, Riverside)

Non-scientific Interests: Spending time with my partner and our fur-children, running, cycling, autumn in the midwest, and most things fantasy/sci-fi.

Brief bio: I grew up in California. Both my parents taught Biology (High School and Community College levels) and I remember as a kid trying to read through all my brother’s Zoobooks once he finished. In high school and college, I gravitated towards the cell and molecular side of Biology but didn’t have much training in plant biology until I got to grad school. Fortunately, I had a wonderful mentor as my PI (Dr. Paul Larsen), who quickly stoked my interest in plant physiology and ethylene signaling in particular. After finishing my Ph.D., I left Southern California to begin postdoctoral work with Dr. Edgar Spalding at UW-Madison, where I gained an appreciation for auxin and the patience for electrophysiology research. I began my position as an Assistant Professor at UMn Morris in 2016, and my research program currently focuses on high resolution imaging as a platform for characterizing plant development. I’m particularly interested in studies of photomorphogenesis in Arabidopsis.