The VanBuren Lab
Dr. Bob VanBuren is an assistant professor in the department of Horticulture at Michigan State University. Prior to this, he was an NSF-PGRP Postdoctoral fellow at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in Todd Mocker’s lab. His NSF project focused on understanding drought induced CAM photosynthesis in the succulent plant Sedum album. He completed his PhD with Ray Ming at the University of Illinois studying the evolution of sex chromosomes in papaya. Bob is broadly interested in the evolution of drought adaptations and crop domestication.
Google scholar page CV 
Anna Pardo is a PhD candidate in the Department of Horticulture. Previously, she received her undergraduate degree in Genetics from the University of New Hampshire, where she worked on polyamines under drought and salt stress in rice. Her PhD work focuses on computational genomics and abiotic stress responses in maize, the desiccation tolerant grass Eragrostis nindensis, and other extremophilic angiosperms. She is interested in understanding the commonalities between plants’ transcriptomic responses to different abiotic stressors, both in maize and in extremophiles. She has also worked on improving the genome of E. nindensis and determining its polyploid origin. Outside of research, Anna enjoys hiking, camping, birding, and making stained glass artwork.
Jenny Schuster is a PhD student in the Cell and Molecular Biology department and Molecular Plant
Science program. She received her BS in Biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington whereshe became interested in molecular plant response to changing environmental conditions. In the lab,Jenny is currently working on a project using RNAseq to understand the molecular basis of desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants. During her PhD research, she hopes to combine computational approaches with molecular biology. Outside the lab, Jenny enjoys running and other outdoor activities, playing boardgames, and trying local breweries. |
Dr. Rose Marks is an NSF-PGRP postdoctoral fellow working in the VanBuren lab at Michigan State University and the Farrant lab at the University of Cape Town. She received her PhD from the University of Kentucky with Dr. Nicholas McLetchie where she worked on sex chromosome evolution in the tropical liverwort, Marchantia inflexa. Her current research focuses on understanding the ecophysiology and genomics of extreme drought tolerance in the South African resurrection plant Myrothamnus flabellifolia. Untangling the biology of this unique and understudied plant has promising applications for improving plant resiliency in agricultural systems, and provides an exciting opportunity for Rose to travel to some incredibly beautiful places across Southern Africa.
McKena Lipham is a PhD student in the Plant Biology department and Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology graduate program. She is also a member of the NRT-IMPACTS graduate training program. She received her B.S. in Biotechnology from the University of Georgia with an emphasis in Plant Sciences then decided to pursue her love for plant biology and genomics here at Michigan State University. In the VanBuren lab, she is currently focused on understanding the intricacies of nutrient accumulation, specifically Iron, in Eragrostis Tef. Additionally, McKena is interested in utilizing population genetics, genomics, and computational biology to study the effects of stress on nutrient content in Teff.
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Alumni
Dr. Jeremy Pardo (2022, PhD student) Currently a scientist at Inari Biosciences.
Dr. Brian St. Aubin (2022, postdoctoral researcher) Currently a scientist at Pairwise Plants.
Dr. Kevin Bird (2021, PhD student) Currently a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis.
Dr. Jennifer Wai (2020, postdoctoral researcher) Currently research assistant professor and at Northwestern University.
Michael Gasdick (2022 REU student) Incoming PhD student at MSU.
Max Harman (2021 REU student) Currently a PhD student at MSU.Max Harman
Serena Lotreck (2018 REU student) Currently PhD student in Plant Biology at MSU.
Hannah Chay (2018 HSHSP student) Currently a high school senior.
Mirza Arsyad (2018 Borlaug Fellow) Currently working in forest conservation in Indonesia.
Sterling Evans (2017 REU student) Currently majoring in plant science at Mizzou.
Emily Dias (2017 HSHSP student) Currently an undergraduate at Columbia University.
Dr. Brian St. Aubin (2022, postdoctoral researcher) Currently a scientist at Pairwise Plants.
Dr. Kevin Bird (2021, PhD student) Currently a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis.
Dr. Jennifer Wai (2020, postdoctoral researcher) Currently research assistant professor and at Northwestern University.
Michael Gasdick (2022 REU student) Incoming PhD student at MSU.
Max Harman (2021 REU student) Currently a PhD student at MSU.Max Harman
Serena Lotreck (2018 REU student) Currently PhD student in Plant Biology at MSU.
Hannah Chay (2018 HSHSP student) Currently a high school senior.
Mirza Arsyad (2018 Borlaug Fellow) Currently working in forest conservation in Indonesia.
Sterling Evans (2017 REU student) Currently majoring in plant science at Mizzou.
Emily Dias (2017 HSHSP student) Currently an undergraduate at Columbia University.