Young Cotton Leaf
Southern Section
of the
American Society of Plant
Biologists
Newsletter
Winter 2016
Kriton-Hatzios Symposium
Greetings from
Dr. Rick Turley
2015-2016
Chair of SS-ASPB
Greetings, as we embark into this new year I am excited for
the Southern Section and for the upcoming Southern Section
meeting in Denton, Texas, April 2-4, 2016. Thanks to Dr.
Nihal Dharmasiri and Dr. Rebecca Dickstein for planning
this meeting. Thanks to Dr. Ken Korth for organizing the
Kriton-Hatzios Symposium on genome editing with the
CRISPR system. The Kriton-Hatzios Symposium has taken
form with excellent speakers and will be a great forum for
training both graduate and undergraduate students as they
prepare to embark into studies/careers in plant biology. This
will also provide those, like myself, a chance to interact with
these experts. Also both graduates and undergraduates will
have the opportunity to present their research and to take
part in either a poster competition (undergraduates) or in an
oral competition (graduate students). The Southern Section
provides a friendly environment for students to discuss
research and receive feedback from their peers and
professionals. We invite all to take advantage of this
weekend meeting and some Texas size hospitality!
Genome Editing: Applications
in Plant Science and
Agriculture
SS-ASPB Annual Meeting,
Denton, TX April 2-4, 2016
Dr. Yinong Yang
Penn State University
Improving CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing
tools for plant functional genomics and
precision breeding.
Dr. Yunde Zhao
University of California–San Diego
New strategies for CRISPR – mediated
genome editing in Arabidopsis and rice.
Dr. J. Pon Samuel
Dow AgroSciences
A Zinc Finger Nuclease technology
platform for genetic engineering of crop
plants.
Winter 2016
Congratulations to our newly elected Secretary/Treasurer, 2016 - 2017
SS-ASPB meeting in Denton, TX April 2nd to 4th, 2016
Mark your calendars. The 2016 SS-ASPB Annual Meeting
will be held in University of North Texas (UNT), Denton,
from April 2nd through 4th. Voted “Number 1 Small Town
in America” by Business Insider in 2012, Denton is situated
36 miles north of Dallas and Fort Worth. Denton is a
friendly, vibrant city with much to offer from the
century-old courthouse and the quaint town-square to
world-class shopping, and museums. The 2016 Meeting
will be held in UNT’s Environmental Education, Science
& Technology (EESAT) building and the Gateway Center.
EESAT building houses a large auditorium and several
class rooms with audio-visual facilities and several rooms
for poster presentations. The theme for the 2016 Kriton-Hatzios Symposium is "Genome Editing:
Applications in Plant Science and Agriculture". Confirmed speakers for the symposium are,
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Winter 2016
Dr. Yunde Zhao (University of California, San Diego), Dr. Yinong Yang (Penn.State University),
and Dr. J. Pon Samuel (Dow AgroSciences).
In addition to learning about the latest developments
in plant research, enjoy the field trip to the oldest
botanic garden in Texas, the Fort Worth Botanic
Garden. The botanic garden is home to more than
2,500 native and exotic plants. The excursion
includes round-trip transportation from UNT to the
botanic garden, and a box lunch will be provided.
The excursion does not include separate admission
to the Japanese Garden within the botanic garden.
The 2016 meeting promises to keep our tradition
of promoting plant science and education,
especially among graduate students, and increased
scientific exchange. Please join us in Denton for
this meeting. The smaller size of this meeting will
provide many advantages, such as a better
opportunity for graduate students to give research
talks, better exposure for undergraduate poster
presentations and increased prospects for
networking and collaborations. Please register
online (http://www.ss-aspb.org/) from Jan. 15
through Feb 26, 2016. We encourage graduate
students and early career faculty to give research
talks, but please register early to take the
advantage of this opportunity. For more
information please visit SS-ASPB website.
Accommodations: Lodging has been arranged with
Best Western Premier Crown Chase Inn & Suites,
2450 Brinker Rd, Denton, TX 76208 Tel:
(940) 387-1000. (For online reservations visit:
http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern
/groupSearch.do?groupId=L56SK8Z1). The hotel is
an oasis of warm Texas ambience with spacious
rooms, conveniently located just off I-35E and
close to a variety of restaurants and the Golden
Triangle Mall. Enjoy luxurious rooms at reduced
rates ($89/room rates available if you reserve
by February 26, 2016) for meeting attendees, the beautiful swimming pool, hot tub, 24/7
access to the hotel gym. A shuttle service will be available between the meeting site at UNT
campus and the hotel. If you need additional information regarding the meeting, please contact
either Nihal Dharmasiri ([email protected]) or Rebecca Dickstein ([email protected]).
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Winter 2016
Plant Biology 2016
Austin, Texas, July 9 – 13, 2016
Remember these Submission Deadlines (plantbiology.aspb.org)
January 25, 2016
Deadline to be considered for a mini-symposium or lightning talk. New talk in 2016,
lightning talks are one-minute presentations that will be added to a number of minisymposia.
May 9, 2016
Deadline to be included in the printed program book. Primary poster presenters
MUST be registered for the conference, and the abstract must be completed by this
date.
June 1, 2016
Deadline for late abstract submission to be included in the conference app and online
program. Primary poster presenters MUST also be registered for the conference. This
will be the LAST DAY to submit an abstract. Abstracts cannot be submitted online
after this date.
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Winter 2016
The “Better Know a Member” section is an opportunity to share with the
Southern Section community your hidden talents, your quirky nature or your
interesting hobbies. As the baton was passed on to me from Dr. Ashlee
McCaskill, former Chair of the Southern Section, I thought that I would dig
deep into my past and try find something as interesting as the last two “Better
Know a Member” spotlights, i.e., a “Jazz Radio Jock” and a “Roller Derby
Queen”. I only came up with my early fascination with origami and my more
recent hobby of genealogy. So if you do not want to read about how to fold
paper into a crane or a monkey and you really do not want to read stories about
my living and dead relatives, please send in your stories ASAP and become the
next Southern Section Legend. Please send your stories to Rick Turley at the
address below. I hope to be reading about you soon!
2015-2016 SS-ASPB Officers
Chair
Dr. Rick Turley
Research Plant Physiologist
USDA-ARS, Jamie Whitton Delta States
Research Center, Stoneville, MS 38776
662-686-5268
[email protected]
Vice-Chair
Dr. Ken Korth
Professor of Plant Pathology
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
479-575-5191
[email protected]
Secretary/Treasurer
Dr. Nihal Dharmasiri
Associate Professor
Department of Biology
Texas State University
San Marcos, TX 78666
512-245-4911
[email protected]
Executive Committee Members
Dr. Ashlee McCaskill
Associate Professor of Plant Biology
University of North Georgia
Dahlonega, GA 30597
706-864-1954
[email protected]
Dr. Jay Shockey
Research Plant Geneticist
USDA-ARS, Southern Regional Research Center
New Orleans, LA 70124
504-286-4296
[email protected]
Dr. Paul Stephenson
Associate Professor of Biology
Rollins College
Winter Park, FL 32789
407-646-2481
[email protected]
2014-2017 Southern Section Representative
to the ASPB Executive Committee
Dr. Rebecca Dickstein
Professor of Biology
University of North Texas
Denton, TX 76203
940-565-3359
[email protected]
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