There are currently three projects in my laboratory. One focuses on understanding how plants are able to change their growth habits in response to environmental cues, such as light and nutrient availability. Another is in the area of phytoremediation, which is the use of plants to remove pollutants from the environment. Recently, we are also exploring the role molecular motors play in regulating organ production during development.

Growth in plants can be described as a combination of cell proliferation and cell expansion. And, cell proliferation in plants mostly takes place in regions called meristems. Cell divisions in meristems are highly regulated. While it is clear that the cell cycle is tightly controlled by the activity of the a protein complex containing a cyclin and a cyclin-dependent kinase, the molecular details of this regulatory process remains unclear in plants. Moreover, how a signal from the environment, such as the position or existence of light, is processed to affect cell division rates is unknown. My laboratory uses cellular, molecular, and genetic tools on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana to answer questions related to cell division control. For example, how is cell division regulated during photomorphogenesis? We are analyzing cell division pattern in mutants defective in light and dark developmental programs to make conclusions about the role these molecules play in controlling cell division The second area of research is in phytoremediation. The focus here is to identify genes that can be used in the genetic engineering of plants to clean up soils that are contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are major pollutant byproducts of oil base manufacturing. Using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model system, we are isolating mutants that are able to degrade or are hypersensitive to the pollutants with the hope of manipulating processes that allow for plant mediate degradation of pollutants.

The third area of research is a collaboration with Joe Gindhart at the University of Richmond and my lab. We have identified Arabidopsis mutants that are defective in processes associated with the proteins kinesins, microtubule motor proteins. We are currently analyzing phenotypes of null mutations in several members of this very large multigene family.

My teaching interests are in plant molecular biology and physiology. I participate in undergraduate and graduate courses related to plant molecular biology, plant physiology, developmental biology, biotechnology and plant hormone biology. I am an advocate of inquiry based learning that incorporates hand-on laboratory experiences. I am also active in training and mentoring student groups that are underrepresented in the sciences.