I am interested in how plants, as sessile organisms, perceive and respond to environmental stimuli. My current research utilizes the genetic model organism Arabidopsis thaliana to study asymmetric growth in response to a change in the direction of gravity, a process known as gravitropism. Simply stated, I study how plants know which way is “up,” and how they respond to a reorientation with respect to gravity. More specifically, I am fascinated by the complex signaling pathways that regulate such a straightforward response. To better understand these processes I use a combination of molecular, genetic and physiological approaches to gain functional information about the genes required for a plant to sense and physically respond to gravity. Most recently, this has led to a collaboration with NASA to determine the differences in protein expression and post translational modifications between ground samples vs. those in orbit on the International Space Station.
