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Department of Plant Biology

News

Plant Biology

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  • A man in a blue plaid shirt and brown pants standing in front of trees
    New model can accurately predict a forest’s future
    2025-09-18 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — One of the great challenges of ecology is to understand the factors that maintain, or undermine, diversity in ecosystems, researchers write in a new report in the journal Science. The researchers detail their development of a new model that — using a tree census and genomic data collected from multiple species in a forest — can predict future fluctuations in the relative...
  • A headshot of Katy Heath
    Plant Biology Department Head Katy Heath recognized as one of five University Scholars
    2025-09-04 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Five professors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have been named University Scholars in recognition of their achievements in teaching, scholarship and service.The program honors faculty excellence and provides $15,000 to each scholar for three years to enhance their academic careers. That money may be used for travel, equipment, research assistants, books or other...
  • A photo of a field at sunset with a rain canopy over a part of it
    How drought and ozone pollution team up to reduce soybean yield
    2025-08-27 - In a decisive new study, crop scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and USDA’s Agricultural Research Service show that soybeans are doubly damaged by drought and ozone pollution, both of which are...
  • A side by side photo. On the right a man in a striped shirt standing behind a woman in a orange shirt. On the right a professional headshot of a woman.
    Study identifies gene clusters in rhizobia linked to robust legume growth
    2025-07-28 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a new study, scientists used nearly every tool in their toolkit — genomics, transcriptomics, greenhouse experiments and advanced statistical methods — to gain new insight into the complex chemical interactions that take place in underground root nodules, where legumes like soybeans exchange vital nutrients with soil microbes called rhizobia. Reported in the Proceedings...
  • students posing next to one another in front of a fountain
    Incoming SIB grad students excel in summer research program
    2025-07-22 - Four incoming graduate students—Sam Pring (Min Lab, Plant Biology), Marcus Brown (Punyasena Lab, Plant Biology), Mary Heather Jingco (Kingston Lab, PEEC), and Kehvyn Cedeño (Martínez Lab, PEEC)—recently completed the university’s competitive, fully funded 8-week Summer Predoctoral Institute (SPI).The program, designed to support students from underrepresented backgrounds as they transition into...
  • Headshot of Stephen Long
    Stephen Long recognized as 2025 World Food Prize Top Agri-Food Pioneer
    2025-07-08 - Stephen Long, Ikenberry Endowed Chair Emeritus of Plant Biology and Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has been selected as a 2025 Top Agri-food Pioneer (TAP) by...
  • a side by side photo of James O'Dwyer on the left and Mark Lara on the right
    Plant Biology faculty honored with prestigious campus awards
    2025-06-23 - The School of Integrative Biology proudly congratulates two outstanding faculty members in the Department of Plant Biology. Dr. James O’Dwyer has been recognized with the 2025 Campus Distinguished Promotion Award and named the 2025–2026 Dean’s Distinguished Professorial Scholar, honoring his...
  • Carl Bernacchi, Stephen Long and Donald Ort headshots.
    Review: Heat-resilient crops are within reach — given enough time and money
    2025-06-12 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Laboratory and field experiments have repeatedly shown that modifying the process of photosynthesis or the physical characteristics of plants can make crops more resilient to hotter temperatures. Scientists can now alter the abundance or orientation of leaves, change leaf chemistry to improve heat tolerance and adjust key steps in the process of photosynthesis to overcome...
  • A photo of Stephen Long holding a plant
    Report: ‘Future-proofing’ crops will require urgent, consistent effort
    2025-05-29 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In a review in The Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, Stephen Long, a professor of crop sciences and of plant biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, describes research efforts...
  • headshot of Amy Marshall-Colon
    Plant Biology Associate Professor Amy Marshall Colon wins ASPB Award for Excellence in Education
    2025-04-30 - The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) has honored Dr. Amy Marshall-Colón, Associate Professor of Plant Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, with the 2025 Excellence in Education Award. This prestigious award recognizes...
  • Andrew Leakey standing in front of a designed background
    New approach makes AI adaptable for computer vision in crop breeding
    2025-04-24 - CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Scientists developed a machine-learning tool that can teach itself, with minimal external guidance, to differentiate between aerial images of flowering and nonflowering grasses — an advance that will greatly increase the pace of agricultural field research, they say. The work was conducted using images of thousands of varieties of Miscanthus grasses, each of which has...
  • A man and a woman working in a dry landscape
    Assistant Professor Rose Marks leads global effort to advance desiccation tolerance research
    2025-04-16 - Dr. Rose Marks, Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Biology has spearheaded a landmark international collaboration to chart the future of desiccation tolerance research. The resulting paper, “Life on the Dry Side: A Roadmap to Understanding Desiccation Tolerance and Accelerating Translational Applications,” was published...
  • Headshot of Plant Biology Graduate Student Lijia Guo
    Plant Biology Graduate Student Lijia Guo takes third in 2025 Image of Research competition
    2025-04-12 - The Graduate College and the Media Commons of the University Library recently announced the winners of the 2025 Image of Research competition. This annual competition underscores the extraordinary creativity and intellectual diversity of our graduate students.3RD PRIZEThe Melting Arctic: A Fleeting Beautyby Lijia Guo from Plant Biology "As...
  • Tracy smiling while working with lab equipment
    Lawson brings renowned plant science expertise to Illinois
    2025-04-07 - 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, Lawson has recently joined the plant biology faculty University of...
  • A wide shot photo of students sitting in a room
    Two SIB faculty receive awards honoring excellence in instruction
    2025-04-02 - 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 sustained excellence and innovation in undergraduate and graduate teaching, undergraduate and...

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College of Liberal Arts & Sciences School of Integrative Biology
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286 Morrill Hall

505 S. Goodwin Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

217-333-3044

Email: sib@life.illinois.edu

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Departments

  • Entomology
    • 320 Morrill Hall
    • 217-333-2910
    • entowork@life.illinois.edu
  • Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior
    • 320 Morrill Hall
    • 217-333-7801
    • eeb@life.illinois.edu
  • Plant Biology
    • 286 Morrill Hall
    • 217-333-3261
    • plants@life.illinois.edu

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