Kathleen (Katie) Greenham, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Plant & Microbial Biology
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Ph.D, University of California, San Diego
B.S., Queen's University, Kingston, ON Canada
greenham[at]umn.edu
I’ve always loved science and problem solving. In college, while being drawn to literature, I found my passion working in a research laboratory. In graduate school my research focused on deciphering the signaling pathways of the phytohormone auxin during seedling development in Arabidopsis thaliana. An unexpected phenotype of an auxin signaling mutant introduced me to the world of circadian biology. I was instantly fascinated by this internal clock that tracks changes in daylength and coordinates plant growth with the external environment. Later, my interests shifted towards exploring the consequences of this internal timekeeping on plant fitness. Little did I realize at the time that studying the circadian clock meant sacrificing my own clock when performing essential multi-day time course experiments.
As an NSF National Plant Genomes Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow, I applied co-expression network analysis to integrate temporal changes in transcriptomic and physiological responses to drought in the crop Brassica rapa. This study revealed early temporal indicators of drought perception and the importance of time when assessing stress response. Due to the extensive polyploidy inherent in crop genomes, we are more dependent on computational approaches and the need for broadening our collaborations to computer science, engineering and mathematics. If my research experience has taught me anything, it is that discovery often happens outside our comfort zone and we must be willing to accept being uncomfortable if it means learning something new.
While my work focuses on plant fitness, I really love spending time on my own fitness. A successful day for me contains either a CrossFit workout or getting out on my bike. No matter the state of fitness, I believe the world is never brighter than after a good cup of coffee.
Assistant Professor
Department of Plant & Microbial Biology
University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Ph.D, University of California, San Diego
B.S., Queen's University, Kingston, ON Canada
greenham[at]umn.edu
I’ve always loved science and problem solving. In college, while being drawn to literature, I found my passion working in a research laboratory. In graduate school my research focused on deciphering the signaling pathways of the phytohormone auxin during seedling development in Arabidopsis thaliana. An unexpected phenotype of an auxin signaling mutant introduced me to the world of circadian biology. I was instantly fascinated by this internal clock that tracks changes in daylength and coordinates plant growth with the external environment. Later, my interests shifted towards exploring the consequences of this internal timekeeping on plant fitness. Little did I realize at the time that studying the circadian clock meant sacrificing my own clock when performing essential multi-day time course experiments.
As an NSF National Plant Genomes Initiative Postdoctoral Fellow, I applied co-expression network analysis to integrate temporal changes in transcriptomic and physiological responses to drought in the crop Brassica rapa. This study revealed early temporal indicators of drought perception and the importance of time when assessing stress response. Due to the extensive polyploidy inherent in crop genomes, we are more dependent on computational approaches and the need for broadening our collaborations to computer science, engineering and mathematics. If my research experience has taught me anything, it is that discovery often happens outside our comfort zone and we must be willing to accept being uncomfortable if it means learning something new.
While my work focuses on plant fitness, I really love spending time on my own fitness. A successful day for me contains either a CrossFit workout or getting out on my bike. No matter the state of fitness, I believe the world is never brighter than after a good cup of coffee.
Lab Manager
Ananda Menon
Biology, M.S. College of William and Mary
Biology, B.A. College of Wooster
I have always been interested in the natural world and how organisms react and adjust to their environments. During my education I had brief stint doing field ecology and ecotoxicology, but have discovered how fascinating the world of plant molecular biology and gene regulation is. In the lab I provide support on a number of projects, from molecular cloning to metabolite estimation.
Outside the lab I enjoy fantasy novels, hanging out with my dogs and keeping tropical fish.
Biology, M.S. College of William and Mary
Biology, B.A. College of Wooster
I have always been interested in the natural world and how organisms react and adjust to their environments. During my education I had brief stint doing field ecology and ecotoxicology, but have discovered how fascinating the world of plant molecular biology and gene regulation is. In the lab I provide support on a number of projects, from molecular cloning to metabolite estimation.
Outside the lab I enjoy fantasy novels, hanging out with my dogs and keeping tropical fish.
Postdoctoral Researchers
Alveena Zulfiqar, Ph.D.
PhD., Quaid-I-Azam University, Pakistan/ Dartmouth College, USA
During my Ph.D. I studied the role of two component signaling elements in modulating the transcriptional outputs in Arabidopsis thaliana via crosstalk between hormones. Through my research I was able to identify the molecular basis of ethylene mediated inhibition of hypocotyl elongation. I am always intrigued by the genetic basis of physiological and molecular responses of plants. Circadian regulation is important to plants, including our crops because it has a major impact on plant physiology, development and metabolism. I will focus on deciphering the communication between cells via circadian oscillators. Apart from science, I love to spend time over the river and in the woods.
PhD., Quaid-I-Azam University, Pakistan/ Dartmouth College, USA
During my Ph.D. I studied the role of two component signaling elements in modulating the transcriptional outputs in Arabidopsis thaliana via crosstalk between hormones. Through my research I was able to identify the molecular basis of ethylene mediated inhibition of hypocotyl elongation. I am always intrigued by the genetic basis of physiological and molecular responses of plants. Circadian regulation is important to plants, including our crops because it has a major impact on plant physiology, development and metabolism. I will focus on deciphering the communication between cells via circadian oscillators. Apart from science, I love to spend time over the river and in the woods.
Zachary Myers, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
B.S., University of Oklahoma
My scientific career has been driven by an intense curiosity about how things work. Growing up in rural Oklahoma meant that I spent a lot of time outdoors, but my interest in plants at that age was limited to identifying (and avoiding) poison ivy, and perfecting our wild blackberry harvesting. My undergraduate research in Biology at the University of Oklahoma was animal-focused, and gave me critical insight into my (lack of) tolerance for hurting zebrafish or patience for counting thousands of Drosophila. Toward the end of my program, I met and began working with Dr. Ben Holt, where I was introduced to the greener side of biology. I quickly became fascinated with how plants “read” their environment and started working in the field of photoperiodic-dependent flowering. I continued my education in Ben’s lab, and received my PhD in 2019. My PhD work was multi-faceted, including projects developing microscopy techniques in plants to detect protein-protein interactions, exploring the molecular genetics of photomorphogenic development in Arabidopsis thaliana, and designing synthetic systems to probe transcription factor complex function. These projects introduced me to the immense complexity of plant transcription factors.
In 2020, I joined Dr. Nathan Springer’s lab and began studying abiotic stress responses in maize and Setaria viridis, with a focus on genomics-based approaches. In 2021, I was awarded a USDA NIFA postdoctoral fellowship and spent the next 2 years developing and applying genomics and single-cell based approaches to understand the structure of molecular heat stress responses in Setaria. Toward the end of my fellowship, I began working with Drs. Katie Greenham and Feng Zhang, and am currently jointly appointed as a postdoctoral associate in their respective labs. My research projects in Katie’s lab explore gene regulation and transcription factor biology in ways that are new and exciting to me. I am working to help understand the distribution and variety of circadian clocks across plant tissues, and to understand the significance of their spatial organization. I am also returning to some of my earliest scientific training, and developing a new microscopy toolkit for validating our single-cell and spatial observations, and to facilitate clock monitoring in single tissue types.
Outside the lab, I love to spend time with my family, cook and bake, read, hike, and DM my own Dungeons and Dragons campaign!
Ph.D., University of Oklahoma
B.S., University of Oklahoma
My scientific career has been driven by an intense curiosity about how things work. Growing up in rural Oklahoma meant that I spent a lot of time outdoors, but my interest in plants at that age was limited to identifying (and avoiding) poison ivy, and perfecting our wild blackberry harvesting. My undergraduate research in Biology at the University of Oklahoma was animal-focused, and gave me critical insight into my (lack of) tolerance for hurting zebrafish or patience for counting thousands of Drosophila. Toward the end of my program, I met and began working with Dr. Ben Holt, where I was introduced to the greener side of biology. I quickly became fascinated with how plants “read” their environment and started working in the field of photoperiodic-dependent flowering. I continued my education in Ben’s lab, and received my PhD in 2019. My PhD work was multi-faceted, including projects developing microscopy techniques in plants to detect protein-protein interactions, exploring the molecular genetics of photomorphogenic development in Arabidopsis thaliana, and designing synthetic systems to probe transcription factor complex function. These projects introduced me to the immense complexity of plant transcription factors.
In 2020, I joined Dr. Nathan Springer’s lab and began studying abiotic stress responses in maize and Setaria viridis, with a focus on genomics-based approaches. In 2021, I was awarded a USDA NIFA postdoctoral fellowship and spent the next 2 years developing and applying genomics and single-cell based approaches to understand the structure of molecular heat stress responses in Setaria. Toward the end of my fellowship, I began working with Drs. Katie Greenham and Feng Zhang, and am currently jointly appointed as a postdoctoral associate in their respective labs. My research projects in Katie’s lab explore gene regulation and transcription factor biology in ways that are new and exciting to me. I am working to help understand the distribution and variety of circadian clocks across plant tissues, and to understand the significance of their spatial organization. I am also returning to some of my earliest scientific training, and developing a new microscopy toolkit for validating our single-cell and spatial observations, and to facilitate clock monitoring in single tissue types.
Outside the lab, I love to spend time with my family, cook and bake, read, hike, and DM my own Dungeons and Dragons campaign!
William Gustafson, Ph.D.
Ph.D., University of Kentucky
B.S., M.S., University of Cincinnati
My Ph.D. was in pure mathematics. I studied partial orders arising from a graph theoretic context. Now I'm learning to do bioinformatics and machine learning. Outside of work I play drums and bass guitar, tennis and grow cacti.
Ph.D., University of Kentucky
B.S., M.S., University of Cincinnati
My Ph.D. was in pure mathematics. I studied partial orders arising from a graph theoretic context. Now I'm learning to do bioinformatics and machine learning. Outside of work I play drums and bass guitar, tennis and grow cacti.
Graduate Students
Angela (Angie) Ricono; M.S.
Plant and Microbial Biology PhD Candidate,
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
M.S., The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg VA
B.S., Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne FL
While there are numerous ways that plants continue to fascinate me, what I find most compelling about these organisms is their incredible ability to adapt to stress. Some might assume that non-sessile organisms (ie. mammals) which can often flee, fight, or at least conceptualize stress, are more likely to succeed in such demanding environments. However, we continue to find captivating plant adaptations that allow them to excel in stochastic and inhospitable environments. What, then, makes one plant better at withstanding stressful environments over another? Are there specific adaptations that we can identify; and if so, can we use these “tools” to improve less tolerant crops? One mechanism that plants may use to become more tolerant is through alterations in (specialized) metabolism. Although there are numerous ways that this can arise, what I am most interested in is understanding how differences in time-of-day specific (circadian) regulation of specialized metabolism contributes to plant stress responses. My PhD research; therefore, explores this question in very tasty (and occasionally spicy) Brassica rapa cultivars, with a particular focus on sulfur-related metabolites.
Before becoming a scientist, I was a thespian-bartender hybrid for many years. I continue to pursue both aspects as often as I can, although now-a-days this is usually through a Netflix-wine combo. My beautiful pup, Ella, sincerely appreciates these endeavors and is more than happy to provide her opinion should any show/movie not be up to her tastes. Our most recent non-lab related aspirations include: finding every vegetable that I can pair with Farro (it’s not Brassica, but it’s delicious and Ella agrees), discovering fun new things that the Twin Cities have to offer, and hopefully -finally! – really discovering who John Galt is.
Plant and Microbial Biology PhD Candidate,
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
M.S., The College of William & Mary, Williamsburg VA
B.S., Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne FL
While there are numerous ways that plants continue to fascinate me, what I find most compelling about these organisms is their incredible ability to adapt to stress. Some might assume that non-sessile organisms (ie. mammals) which can often flee, fight, or at least conceptualize stress, are more likely to succeed in such demanding environments. However, we continue to find captivating plant adaptations that allow them to excel in stochastic and inhospitable environments. What, then, makes one plant better at withstanding stressful environments over another? Are there specific adaptations that we can identify; and if so, can we use these “tools” to improve less tolerant crops? One mechanism that plants may use to become more tolerant is through alterations in (specialized) metabolism. Although there are numerous ways that this can arise, what I am most interested in is understanding how differences in time-of-day specific (circadian) regulation of specialized metabolism contributes to plant stress responses. My PhD research; therefore, explores this question in very tasty (and occasionally spicy) Brassica rapa cultivars, with a particular focus on sulfur-related metabolites.
Before becoming a scientist, I was a thespian-bartender hybrid for many years. I continue to pursue both aspects as often as I can, although now-a-days this is usually through a Netflix-wine combo. My beautiful pup, Ella, sincerely appreciates these endeavors and is more than happy to provide her opinion should any show/movie not be up to her tastes. Our most recent non-lab related aspirations include: finding every vegetable that I can pair with Farro (it’s not Brassica, but it’s delicious and Ella agrees), discovering fun new things that the Twin Cities have to offer, and hopefully -finally! – really discovering who John Galt is.
Danielle Gafford
Plant and Microbial Biology PhD Student,
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
B.A. Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia Missouri
Sitting across from an elder of the indigenous Karen tribe in Thailand, I carefully watched as she showed me how to make khao tom mad, a traditional dish of banana leaf-wrapped rice. Learning how indigenous nations interact with native plants gave me a new perspective on how climate change affects food security. This experience continues to motivate me to conduct plant molecular biology research.
I have begun studying how to utilize cutting-edge gene editing techniques to manipulate the Brassica rapa circadian clock under heat stress. By creating a simple genetic circuit, we can control heat stress response based on the time of day. My ultimate goal is to combine these skills and perspectives in my future research to find the most groundbreaking solutions to the impacts of climate change.
Plant and Microbial Biology PhD Student,
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
B.A. Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia Missouri
Sitting across from an elder of the indigenous Karen tribe in Thailand, I carefully watched as she showed me how to make khao tom mad, a traditional dish of banana leaf-wrapped rice. Learning how indigenous nations interact with native plants gave me a new perspective on how climate change affects food security. This experience continues to motivate me to conduct plant molecular biology research.
I have begun studying how to utilize cutting-edge gene editing techniques to manipulate the Brassica rapa circadian clock under heat stress. By creating a simple genetic circuit, we can control heat stress response based on the time of day. My ultimate goal is to combine these skills and perspectives in my future research to find the most groundbreaking solutions to the impacts of climate change.
Adelaide Hazen
Plant and Microbial Biology PhD Student,
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
B.S., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Plant and Microbial Biology PhD Student,
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
B.S., University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Samantha Pelletier
Plant and Microbial Biology PhD Student,
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Botany B.A., Connecticut College, New London CT
I became fascinated with the molecular biology of plants during my undergraduate studies, and my work in chemistry quickly led me down the rabbit hole of phytochemistry. I find the metabolism of plants fascinating, especially due to their immobility- what does a plant do with limited resources? In the Greenham lab, I am aiming to investigate sulfur flux, which is particularly interesting in the Brassicaceae family due to their unique production of glucosinolates. The flux between primary and specialized metabolites (such as glucosinolates) becomes more captivating under the lens of circadian biology, where time of day can influence what pathways are more active (or repressed).
Outside of the lab, I love to hike, explore the game shelves of local breweries, and ice skate.
Plant and Microbial Biology PhD Student,
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Botany B.A., Connecticut College, New London CT
I became fascinated with the molecular biology of plants during my undergraduate studies, and my work in chemistry quickly led me down the rabbit hole of phytochemistry. I find the metabolism of plants fascinating, especially due to their immobility- what does a plant do with limited resources? In the Greenham lab, I am aiming to investigate sulfur flux, which is particularly interesting in the Brassicaceae family due to their unique production of glucosinolates. The flux between primary and specialized metabolites (such as glucosinolates) becomes more captivating under the lens of circadian biology, where time of day can influence what pathways are more active (or repressed).
Outside of the lab, I love to hike, explore the game shelves of local breweries, and ice skate.
Technicians
Danielle Schoenecker
B.S., University of Minnesota
I have always been interested in the biological sciences from a young age – whether that be through books or exploration outdoors. My major at the U of M was Plant and Microbial Biology which shaped how I view plants and their interactions with the world. I am especially fascinated by plant resistance to extreme temperatures, pests, and drought.
At the Greenham lab, I have been able to pursue my interests, as well as perform a variety of tasks such as: plant care and maintenance of morphotype lines, floral dip, cold and heat stress experiments, time-courses, and pollinator observations in the field. There is always something new to learn about!
Outside of work, I love to bike, draw, and play video games. I also keep a variety of houseplants from cacti to pothos.
B.S., University of Minnesota
I have always been interested in the biological sciences from a young age – whether that be through books or exploration outdoors. My major at the U of M was Plant and Microbial Biology which shaped how I view plants and their interactions with the world. I am especially fascinated by plant resistance to extreme temperatures, pests, and drought.
At the Greenham lab, I have been able to pursue my interests, as well as perform a variety of tasks such as: plant care and maintenance of morphotype lines, floral dip, cold and heat stress experiments, time-courses, and pollinator observations in the field. There is always something new to learn about!
Outside of work, I love to bike, draw, and play video games. I also keep a variety of houseplants from cacti to pothos.
Undergraduate Students
Dennis Such
Ava Wise
Ellie Smieja
Alexander Eull
Rohit Poduval
Samuel Allen
Ava Wise
Ellie Smieja
Alexander Eull
Rohit Poduval
Samuel Allen
Lab Alumni
Postdoctoral Researchers:
Kathleen Markham; Researcher, University of Minnesota
Madeline Olberg; Assistant Professor starting 2024, Cornell
Kathleen Markham; Researcher, University of Minnesota
Madeline Olberg; Assistant Professor starting 2024, Cornell
Undergraduates:
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Technicians:
Tyler Nelson |