The VanBuren Lab
![]() Dr. Bob VanBuren is an associate professor in the departments of Plant Soil & Microbial Sciences and Plant Biology 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 ![]() 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. ![]() Maddy Creach is a PhD student in the Department of Plant Biology. She received her B.S. in Biological Sciences and Mathematics from the University of Missouri-Columbia and her M.Sc. in Bioinformatics from Queen Mary University of London. Maddy is interested in applying computational approaches to biological problems and in this vein she is currently working on a project using maize expression data collected from the field to predict complex phenotypes. Outside of research she enjoys running, reading, and traveling.
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![]() Dr. Ian Gilman is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biology in the Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University. He received his PhD from Yale University with Dr. Erika Edwards, where he studied the evolution of plant carbon concentrating mechanisms, which augment photosynthesis in extreme environments. His work integrates anatomical, physiological, and genomic evolution of plants with Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) across phylogenetic scales. Ian’s postdoctoral research builds on his past work on the genomics of purslane (Portulaca), and focuses on single-cell gene expression and regulation in photosynthetic tissues.
![]() Cathy Mercado is a PhD student in the Plant Biology Department and Molecular Plant Sciences Dual Degree program. She received her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin, where she became interested in the plant molecular biology. Her current work in the VanBuren lab has her investigating the physiology and molecular landscape of prolonged desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants. Besides her huge enthusiasm for research, she is a proponent of science communication practices. You’ll often find her hanging out with her dog Ekko while trying to keep her house plants alive.
![]() Elliot Braun is a PhD student in the Genetics and Genome Sciences program as well as the Molecular Plant Sciences program. He received his B.S. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Genetics and Plant Pathology and decided to continue pursuing plant sciences at MSU. His current projects involve studying the genetic elements underpinning the accumulation of phenolic compounds with an emphasis on flavonoids and their impact on plant resilience. To accomplish this, his work lies at the intersection of genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics. Apart from research, Elliot enjoys playing basketball and backpacking.
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Alumni
Dr. Serena Lotreck (2019-2024, PhD Student)
Dr. Anna Pardo (2019-2024, PhD Student)
Dr. McKena Lipham Wilson (2019-2024, PhD Student)
Dr. Rose Marks (2019-2024, NSF postdoctoral fellow) Currently an Assistant Professor at the Univeristy of Illinois
Dr. Jeremy Pardo (2017-2022, PhD student) Currently a scientist at Inari Biosciences.
Dr. Brian St. Aubin (2020-2022, postdoctoral researcher) Currently a scientist at Pairwise Plants.
Dr. Kevin Bird (2017-2021, PhD student) Currently a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis.
Dr. Jennifer Wai (2016-2020, 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. Anna Pardo (2019-2024, PhD Student)
Dr. McKena Lipham Wilson (2019-2024, PhD Student)
Dr. Rose Marks (2019-2024, NSF postdoctoral fellow) Currently an Assistant Professor at the Univeristy of Illinois
Dr. Jeremy Pardo (2017-2022, PhD student) Currently a scientist at Inari Biosciences.
Dr. Brian St. Aubin (2020-2022, postdoctoral researcher) Currently a scientist at Pairwise Plants.
Dr. Kevin Bird (2017-2021, PhD student) Currently a postdoctoral researcher at UC Davis.
Dr. Jennifer Wai (2016-2020, 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.