Department of Plant Biology

Growing up on an arable and livestock farm in Northumberland, the northernmost county in England, Tracy Lawson's childhood experience sparked a lifelong fascination with plants, setting the stage for her impressive career as a leading biologist.Now, as a globally recognized expert in plant biology...

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign each year presents Campus Awards for Excellence in Instruction to exceptional faculty and staff members, graduate teaching assistants and advisors campuswide. This year’s recipients are being honored at a ceremony on April 15. Awardees are cited for...

We are thrilled to announce that five graduate students from the School of Integrative Biology (SIB) have been named semifinalists in this year’s Image of Research competition! Each year, this exhibition showcases the stunning diversity and creativity of graduate student research. We invite you to...

A team from the University of Illinois has determined that improving a key component of soybean photosynthesis is unlikely to come from traditional breeding methods, and that gene editing is likely the key to unlocking soybean potential. “There’s not a huge...

A new research initiative is investigating how maize and rice use light, water, and nutrients more efficiently, with the goal of developing higher-yield, more resilient crops. The Strategic Interventions for Sustainable Yield Increase in Maize and Rice (SUYIMAR) project, backed by ...

Plant Biology Professor James Dalling is one of the key authors in a recent groundbreaking study published in Science, shedding light on how tropical forests in the Americas are adapting too slowly to keep pace with climate change. This research suggests that these forests, vital to...