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21st Annual CEPCEB Awards & Lecture Ceremony

On Friday December 8th, 2023, students, faculty and special guests celebrated the 21st anniversary of the Center for Plant Cell Biology Noel T. Keen Distinguished Awards and Lecture Ceremony. This event which brings UCR's botany, plant biology, microbiology, plant pathology and other departments together in celebration to award undergraduate students, Ethan Nguyen and Michell Santiago...

2023 ‘Highly Cited’ list celebrates UCR faculty influence

CEPCEB Director Julia Bailey-Serres has appeared on the 2023 Highly Cited Researchers list, marking her ninth appearance on the list since 2014. Clarivate Analytics' list is comprised of researchers whose work is known to "resonate far beyond their individual achievements, strengthening the foundation of excellence and innovation in research"

Plants3D Retreat 2023

Our fourth Plants3D Retreat was an awe-inspiring event where students from different cohorts, graduate students, postdocs, faculty, and guest speakers came together for an unforgettable weekend in the mountains. The Lake Arrowhead Conference Center provided the perfect backdrop for this beautiful gathering, where participants engaged, shared their research, and learned from one another. It was...

2023 REU students visit Fullerton Botanic Garden

The 2023 REU students had the opportunity to explore the Fullerton Botanic Garden and bond over its shared interest in botany. The lush greenery and vibrant flowers provided a picturesque backdrop for the students to get to know each other and discuss their academic pursuits. It was a delightful experience that allowed them to learn...

Robert Jinkerson receives NSF CAREER Award

Assistant Professor of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and CEPCEB member, Robert Jinkerson was recently recognized with a National Science Foundation CAREER award, one of seven recipients at UCR in 2023. Awardees are chosen by NSF as faculty members who are early in their career, but already demonstrate great potential as role models and supporters of...

21st Annual Noel T. Keen Distinguished Lecture and Awards Ceremony

Please mark your calendar for CEPCEB’s annual celebration of science. 21st Annual Noel T. Keen Distinguished Lecture and Awards Ceremony Friday, December 8th Noon – 1:30 PM Professor Michael Purugganan New York University Silver Professor, Professor of Biology Lab Website Dr. Purugganan is a leader in the field of evolutionary and ecological genomics, and his...

Hailing Jin - Research on fungal infection methods and the potential of RNA-based solutions

Research by Professor of Genetics, Cy Mouradick Endowed Chair, and CEPCEB member Dr. Hailing Jin was featured in the UCR campus news. The article discusses research published in the paper "Fungal small RNAs ride in extracellular vesicles to enter plant cells through clathrin-mediated endocytosis". Dr. Jin explains the method and genetics behind grey mold infections...

CEPCEB Founder Dr. Natasha Raikhel selected for 2023 ASPB Award

The American Society for Plant Biologists (ASPB) recently awarded the prestigious Charles Barnes Life Membership Award to Dr. Natasha Raikhel, founder of the CEPCEB program, former IIGB Director, and Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Read more

Dr. Xuemei Chen Selected for 2023 ASPB Award

The American Society for Plant Biologists (ASPB) recently awarded the prestigious Martin Gibbs Medal to Dr. Xuemei Chen, Distinguished Professor of Plant Cell and Molecular Biology. Read more
Professor Julia Bailey-Serres in her lab at Plant Research 1 on Friday, May 5, 2023, at UC Riverside. (UCR/Stan Lim)

New high-tech greenhouse facility opens to researchers

CEPCEB Director, Professor Julia Bailey-Serres was featured in an Inside UCR story about the opening of the new Plant Research 1 building. From the original Inside UCR article, published May 9, 2023 by Imran Ghori: "'This greenhouse gives us a much higher control in terms of temperature, humidity, and light,” said Bailey-Serres, a distinguished professor...
rice harvesting

New strategies to save the world’s most indispensable grain

Plants — they’re just like us, with unique techniques for handling stress. To save one of the most important crops on Earth from extreme climate swings, scientists are mapping out plants’ own stress-busting strategies...

Black eyed peas could help eliminate need for fertilizer

From UCR News Article, published January 20, 2022 by Jules Bernstein Black eyed peas’ ability to attract beneficial bacteria isn’t diminished by modern farming practices, new UC Riverside research shows. Planting it in rotation with other crops could help growers avoid the need for costly, environmentally damaging fertilizers. Without enough nitrogen, plants won’t grow. The...

Hailing Jin & Anand Ray Recognized by National Academy of Inventors

From a UCR Office of Technology Article, published February 11, 2022. The National Academy of Inventors (NAI) have elected IIGB researchers, Hailing Jin and Anandasankar Ray, as senior members of the academy. Dr. Hailing Jin is currently Professor and Cy Mouradick Endowed Chair within the department of microbiology & plant pathology. Dr. Jin’s research leads...

Zhenbiao Yang's Research on Plant Growth Published in Nature Journal

From UCR News article, published November 18, 2021 by Jules Bernstein A team of researchers led by UC Riverside has demonstrated for the first time one way that a small molecule turns a single cell into something as large as a tree. For half a century, scientists have known that all plants depend on this...

CEPCEB's Alex Borowsky receives USDA-NIFA Predoctoral Award

Alex Borowsky of CEPCEB and the Bailey-Serres lab has received an $180,000 grant award from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to study gene regulatory network dynamics of root barrier cell suberin deposition in rice. Alex is one of 117 recipients of the predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowship grants this year. NIFA states that...

Jinkerson uses New Innovator grant to advance research in Urban Agriculture

UC, Riverside News Published 5/24/21 by Holly Ober Urban agriculture offers many benefits for food production but often has higher costs relative to traditional farming and is limited to only a few crops. Robert Jinkerson , an assistant professor of chemical and environmental engineering at UC Riverside, is working to change this by engineering the...

Discovery increases likelihood of growing food despite drought

University of California scientists have discovered genetic data that will help food crops like tomatoes and rice survive longer, more intense periods of drought on our warming planet. Over the course of the last decade, the research team sought to create a molecular atlas of crop roots, where plants first detect the effects of drought...
By Jules Bernstein |

Researchers find peptide that treats, prevents killer citrus disease

New research affirms a unique peptide found in an Australian plant can destroy the No. 1 killer of citrus trees worldwide and help prevent infection. Huanglongbing, HLB, or citrus greening has multiple names, but one ultimate result: bitter and worthless citrus fruits. It has wiped out citrus orchards across the globe, causing billions in annual...
By Aimee Gonzales |

Delicious and disease-free: scientists attempting new citrus varieties

UC Riverside scientists are betting an ancient solution will solve citrus growers’ biggest problem by breeding new fruits with natural resistance to a deadly tree disease. The hybrid fruits will ideally share the best of their parents’ attributes: the tastiness of the best citrus, and the resistance to Huanglongbing , or HLB, displayed by some...

Jason Stajich & Hailing Jin Elected to the American Academy of Microbiology

Jason Stajich and Hailing Jin joined a class of 73 total fellows elected to the American Academy of Microbiology . The academy is a leadership group of scientists from around the globe within the American Society of Microbiology elected annually through a selective, peer-reviewed process. Additionally, Stajich was elected as a fellow of the Mycological...
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