Collective Research Organization of Plant Scientists
CROPS had a full schedule and productive Spring Semester 2026! The group sponsored four Monday lunch seminars featuring the following researchers and topics.
Xiwen Cai, USDA Research Geneticist Agronomy & Horticulture University of Nebraska-Lincoln. “Genomics-Enabled Chromosome Engineering for Alien Introgression and Genome Study in Wheat and Its Relatives” on January 12, 2026.
Hyojin Kim, Senior Research Associate, Biochemistry & Center for Plant Science Innovation. “Plant Biodesign: From Discovery to Application through Plant-Derived Astaxanthin Pathway Engineering in Oilseed Crop” on March 9, 2026.
Rebecca Roston, Associate Professor, Biochemistry & Center for Plant Science Innovation. “Thermostat to Thylakoid: The Complexities of Plant Cold Sensing and Membrane Assembly” on April 13, 2026.
Matt Moscou, invited speaker from USDA/University of Minnesota. “Molecular mimicry of a pathogen virulence target by a plant immune receptor” on May 4, 2026.
During his visit, CROPS coordinated Moscou’s meetings with several colleagues including Satyanarayana Tatineni, Richard Wilson, Katherine Frels, Clemencia Rojas and Saet-Byul Kim, as well as with their respective research groups. CROPS also organized the seminar and schedule including dinner with Richard Wilson and Saet-Byul Kim on Monday 5. A student engagement lunch with the Plant Pathology Program was held. Thiago (CROPS Vice President) managed Moscou's transportation during his stay, and CROPS funded the visit, except the engagement lunch provided by GSA.
CROPS is looking forward to summer, and is holding plant sales at East Campus Discovery Days in June, July, and August. See https://discoverydays.unl.edu/ for dates and times.
CROPS board changes: with Thiago Maia leaving, Emmanuel Biney stepped into the role of vice president. CROPS new social chair is Ruiqi Zhang, a postdoc in the Russo Lab.
We greatly appreciate the many years of faculty advising from Rebecca Roston, and she will be deeply missed. We are looking forward to working with new faculty advisors Jeff Mower through the summer, and Sabrina Russo starting in Fall 2026.