My interest in plants stems the fact that, unlike animals, they cannot run from their problems. In non-motile organisms, linking perception of environmental stimulus with the ability to enact physiological change is the only mechanism to increase their chance of survival. By completing my PhD in the Wasteneys lab, I hope to continue answering this fundamental biological question: when, and how, does the “outside” environment become altered physiology “inside” the cell? Plant microtubules exhibit highly dynamic organization in response to changing environmental conditions, making them an ideal system to investigate how plants respond to environmental change. However individual tubulin subunits, which polymerize to form microtubules, also possess GTPase activity, offering the potential to directly act as signaling proteins. As a result, microtubules offer a system by which environmental stimulus can be both perceived and linked with altered physiology downstream.

 

Born and raised in Edmonton, my interest in molecular biology research truly began at the University of Alberta, where I was able to perform research through both laboratory courses and undergraduate research projects. After graduating with a BSc in Honors Molecular Genetics in 2016, I worked in the lab of Dr. Harald Hutter at Simon Fraser University studying axon guidance in the model Nematode, C. Elegans. However, my interests in photosynthetic organisms lead to my return to the University of Alberta and the pursuit of a MSc in the lab of Dr. George Owttrim, which was conferred in 2020. During my MSc I investigated regulation of the cyanobacterial RNA helicase gene crhR. I demonstrated that via redox regulation mediated by the photosynthetic electron transport chain, crhR is induced in response to diverse, seemingly unrelated, abiotic stresses. I further established a unique role for light in regulation of crhR at multiple level of gene expression and characterized various redox related signaling mutants, demonstrating that light/redox responsive signaling mechanisms are wider acting that previously expected.

 

To me, research represents a form of creativity through which we can learn more about the world around us. Being able to link an observed phenomenon to a specific condition, and more importantly generating a hypothesis by which to actually test this relation experimentally, is just as rewarding for me as discussing the conclusions which arise from this process. Through my strong laboratory background in molecular genetics and passion for all things photosynthetic, I hope to continue to have the opportunity to learn more about how plants perceive the world around them.