The ASPB Environmental and Ecological Plant Physiology section (EEPP) needs a new member of the Executive Committee – the Secretary/Treasurer position. The 4 candidates for the position of Secretary/Treasurer are listed below with their statements of interest. You can also click to see their CVs. Please vote by September 30, 2024.
Dr. Renee Eriksen – (CV)– My name is Renee Eriksen and I started my research lab with USDA-ARS in Salinas, California in 2021. I am interested in serving as the EEPP Secretary/Treasurer because I’d like to get involved in the Society and the Section. I believe I am a good candidate for this position because I am organized and a good listener. I’d like to help develop community-building events and discussions so we can learn more about each other’s research and interests.
Hemant Kumar – (CV) – My name is Hemant Kumar, and I work as a graduate student in the Department of Botany at Banaras Hindu University in India. My area of research is how endophytic microorganisms induced plants to respond different environmental stresses. Serving as the Secretary/Treasurer of the ASPB Environmental and Ecological Plant Physiology (EEPP) section would allow me to assist the scientific community while also advancing knowledge. This post will provide professional development, leadership opportunities, influence on policy and programs, and interaction with key professionals in my field, all of which could help build valuable relationships for future collaborations and career development.
Dr. Alvaro Sanz-Saez – (CV) – My name is Alvaro Sanz-Saez and I am a crop physiologist and Associate Professor at Auburn University. My research program focuses on three primary objectives: 1) understand physiological and molecular mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance in row crops, 2) develop new semi and high-throughput phenotyping techniques that will allow the detection germplasm that is tolerant to different abiotic stresses, and 3) study beneficial plant-microbe interactions that can increase yield under different environmental stresses. As my background is more focused in crop science and agronomy, I want to broad my horizons by integrating myself and my lab in a group like EEPP where there is more basic science, genomics and biochemistry. By being a section officer for EEPP I hope to make more contacts with all the members and know better all the research that is done in the group, but also serve the EEPP community. I think that my experience as Chair of Crop Science Society of America – Crop Physiology and Metabolism Division will help me with the administrative tasks as a board member.
Dr. Stephanie Schmiege – (CV) – My name is Stephanie Schmiege and I am Postdoctoral Fellow at the Plant Resilience Institute at Michigan State University. As a plant ecophysiologist, the EEPP section of ASPB has been a wonderful home where I have grown as a scientist. I am eager to expand my participation through leadership in the officer position. In my career thus far, encouraging scientists of all ages has been a constant goal. I have taught in the classroom (in Tanzania and at the New York Botanical Garden), organized outreach events, and soon I will be starting as an assistant professor at Union College, a liberal arts institution. It would be a delight to work actively in the EEPP section to foster a welcoming and stimulating environment for young plant environmental physiologists and to promote our science (through section mixers, symposia or workshops) at ASPB and beyond.