Overview
Nitrogen (N) is arguably the most important nutrient for plant growth; addition of Nitrogen (N) based fertilizer maximizes crop productivity and was largely the reason many countries achieved food security during the green revolution. Nevertheless, the United Nations Environmental Program in their report "Frontiers 2018/19: Emerging Issues of Environmental Concern" declared Nitrogen overuse to be one of five emerging threats to the planet. N-fertilizers are produced by the Haber-Bosch process which require environmentally detrimental fossil fuels that are an added expense to farmers.
Our research seeks to find solutions that help mitigate problems of excess N-fertilizer use in agriculture while retaining all the benefits of Nitrogen availability for plant productivity. We use molecular genetics tools in the model legume Medicago truncatula to understand the process of biological Nitrogen Fixation wherein Legumes enter into relationships with symbiotic bacteria and 'fix' their own Nitrogen. We are interested in fundamental signaling pathways that underlie legume-microbe interactions and N-acquisition, particularly downstream of plant peptide hormones.
January 2025 - December 2025
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4 / Congratulations M.S student Ms. Shivani Dharam on being awarded the 2025 Travel grant to attend the regional ASPB meeting in Raleigh!
February 2, 2024: Ms. Dharam is working on a USDA funded project to understand the link between peptide signaling and epigenetics. She will travel to Raleigh N.S and present her Masters research in the form of a poster.

Left: Sonali and Right: Shivani observe colonies on Agar plates
3 / Welcome Blake Wright!
February 2, 2024: Undergraduate researcher Mr. Blake Wright joins the lab and will be working with Ms. Hyndavi Yammanru on a USDA funded project.

Blake Wright is a senior within the College of Agriculture with a focus in Biotechnology
2 / Undergraduate researcher Ms. Janae Terrell and postdoctoral scientist Dr. Rajni Parmar are awarded a Travel grant!
January 15, 2025: The undergrads in the lab really ✨ shining ✨ this year under the supervision of postdoc Dr. Rajni Parmar, and 2025 has just begun! Congratulations, Janae Terrell and mentor Rajni Parmar on winning the Root and Shoot travel award to attend the Plant Biology Meeting in Miluawkee, Wisconsin, this summer!

Janae and Rajni at the bench where the magic happens
1 / Undergraduate researcher Ms. Shania Dean=Motley and postdoctoral scientist Dr. Rajni Parmar are awarded a Travel grant!
January, 2025: Congratulations to my lab members Shania Dean-Motley and Rajni Parmar on being awarded the American Society of Plant Biologists' 'Full Ride' Travel award to attend Plant Biology 2025 in Miluawkee, Wisconsin. I am very proud of their collaborative research and the impact on the society they do and will have.


Left: Shania Dean Motley stands at her poster and
Right: Her research mentor Dr. Rajni Parmar
January 2024 - December 2024
January 2023 - December 2023
January 2022 - December 2022
January 2021 - December 2021
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