Faculty Partners
INSPIRATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS
BOEC Partners
The Biotechnology Outreach Education Center (BOEC) is based at Iowa State University and supports the work of the Office of Biotechnology. At the core of our work are healthy and inspirational partnerships. Through equitable collaboration, diverse perspectives, and bias-free learning communities, we work to fulfill our mission.
The BOEC benefits from active partnerships with many institutions and individuals – both on campus and elsewhere. Here are some thoughts from and about several of our current partners.
Chemurgy
Laura Jarboe, Director
The goal of the Chemurgy 2.0 project is to position Iowa as a leading force in advanced biomanufacturing by revitalizing the concept of “chemurgy” – applied chemistry centered on the production of industrial goods from agricultural resources.
Chemurgy 2.0 focuses on manufacturing proteins, vaccines, and therapeutics; manufacturing biochemicals and bio fibers; 3D-printing and composite fabrication processes that utilize biochemicals and fibers; and applications of data science and artificial intelligence. This initiative aims to enhance research infrastructure at Iowa’s research universities and predominantly undergraduate institutions in the state. Additionally, the project extends research experiences and educational opportunities to pre-service teachers and undergraduates, emphasizing inclusivity by reaching out to traditionally underrepresented groups, such as first-generation and rural undergraduate students.
REGENPGC
Raj Raman, Director
RegenPGC stands for Regenerating America’s Working Landscapes to Enhance Natural Resources and Public Goods through Perennial Groundcover. We are a transdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers, funded by USDA-NIFA, with a shared vision of making year-round groundcover on working lands the norm, rather than the exception, for Midwestern US agriculture and beyond.
Dean Adams
Department of Ecology, Evolution & organismal biology
Our research focuses on the macroevolution of multivariate phenotypes. We develop new analytical tools for quantifying multivariate phenotypes (geometric morphometrics), new statistical permutation approaches for high-dimensional data, and new phylogenetic comparative methods for multivariate phenotypes. His empirical work focuses largely on morphological evolution in vertebrates.
Alicia Carriquiry
Center for Statistics and Applications in Forensic Evidence (CSAFE)
Our research focuses on applications of statistics in human nutrition, bioinformatics, forensic sciences, and traffic safety. Current research focuses on digital evidence, growing in importance as digital devices become ubiquitous in modern society. This type of evidence poses unique challenges, from recovering illicit data or software hidden on phones and tablets to examining digital traces of user activity (e.g., messages/texts, login events) for signs of criminal activity. CSAFE research addresses the increased demand for digital forensics tools and methods built on strong probabilistic and statistics foundations.
Lynn Clark
Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology
My research program involves four main lines of investigation: 1) bamboo systematics and evolution based on both morphological and molecular data; 2) floristic inventory and monography of Neotropical bamboos; 3) the evolution and development of vegetative features (e.g., leaf shape and 3-D leaf anatomy) within the grass family; and 4) functional trait ecology and evolution in fire-adapted Neotropical bamboos.
Shui-zhang Fei
Department of Horticulture
Our research focuses on the use of genetics and molecular tools to study mechanisms that control the development of key agronomic traits such as tolerance to abiotic stresses in economically important grasses including perennial ryegrass, creeping bentgrass, switchgrass and the model grass, Brachypodium.
Corrinne Grover
DEPARTMENT OF ECOLOGY, EVOLUTION & ORGANISMAL BIOLOGY
My primary focus is on understanding how genomes evolve, specifically the short- and long-term consequences of genome duplication on the genome and transcriptome, both broadly speaking and in the context of gene networks.
Larry Halverson
Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology
Our research focuses on discovering how bacteria live and interact with each other in a community. This information is important for understanding how bacterial communities interact with plants to promote growth of healthy plants and to reduce nitrogen fertilizer use.
Adina Howe
Agricultural and biosystems engineering
Adina Howe’s research integrates molecular and computational biology to study, model, and manage complex microbial systems in both natural and engineered environments.
Matthew Hufford
Department of Ecology, Evolution & organismal biology
Our research focuses on the demography and local adaptation of ancient farmer varieties of maize known as “landraces”, the evolutionary significance of gene flow across taxa in the genus Zea, and genome assembly and comparative genomics of maize, teosinte and grass species in the Andropogoneae tribe.
Amy Kaleita
AGRICULTURE & BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
Dr. Kaleita’s research focuses on information technology for precision conservation. Primary interests are remote sensing, crop and hydrologic modeling, precision farming, and advanced analytical methods for understanding the influence of spatiotemporally variable soil and hydrologic properties.
Dior Kelley
Department of Genetics, Development and cell biology
Our research explores how auxin signaling modules control diverse developmental processes in Arabidopsis. I am applying a variety of molecular approaches to these studies, including RNA-seq, Ribo-seq, proteomics, and phenotyping. Such multi-scale integration will elucidate new aspects of auxin biology, including links between different aspects of gene regulation and identify novel regulators of plant development.
Young-Jin Lee
Chemistry
The Lee group has interests in developing new mass spectrometry techniques and applying to solve science and engineering problems. The two current major focus areas are mass spectrometry imaging in single cell or subcellular level high-spatial resolution, and understanding complex bio-oils produced through thermochemical conversion.
Sara Lira
Corteva Agriscience
Dr. Lira’s research focuses on breeding for emerging climate-positive cropping systems. Her work has lately emphasized the development of cropping systems, including annual and perennial cover crops and double crops for the Midwest.
Thomas Lübberstedt
Department of Agronomy
Our focus is on identifying superior groundcover and corn germplasm and determining the functional traits related to their compatibility. This work will optimize PGC cropping systems by screening for superior groundcovers and maize hybrids that minimize competition between species. We can help enhance PGC’s economic viability through yield improvement and reduced management requirements while increasing ecosystem impacts via reduced chemical inputs. Our work will also enable the design of novel breeding strategies and provides the opportunity to establish dedicated breeding programs for PGC hybrids and varieties.
Gustavo Macintosh
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology
Our lab works on a variety of things, mostly centered around the two big questions, how do eukaryotic cells recycle ribosomes, and what are the molecular bases of compatible and incompatible interactions between plants and insects? Gustavo also dedicates a significant effort to increase equity and inclusion in STEM. I consider this aspect of my profession on par with scholarly work and teaching and not a side project that can be relegated to a minor role.