Ask A Plant Scientist: Special Edition!
5 Questions with Dr. Sona Pandey -
The Danforth Center's Newest PI
(Excerpt from the Spring 2008 edition of The Leaflet)
Leaflet: Welcome to the Danforth Center! You were a successful member of the Research Faculty at Penn State University. What attracted you to being a Principal Investigator here?
Sona Pandey: I was really interested in getting a job at a research institute where I could concentrate on my research without a heavy teaching load. I liked the idea of being in a place dedicated to studying plant science, and also the fact that the Danforth Center is in close proximity to Washington University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and Monsanto and there is a lot of collaboration going on. When I heard about the Danforth Center job, I applied for it, got it, and now I’m very happy!
Leaflet: Tell us a little bit about what you study.
SP: My primary work investigates the drought stress signaling pathways in plants. In particular, I study the plant hormone abscisic acid, or ABA, which is produced in plants under abiotic stress conditions such drought and serves as a signal to initiate certain kinds of protective plant responses. We know quite a bit about how plants synthesize ABA, as well as how the ABA signal is transmitted between plant cells. However, we don’t know how plant cells first recognize ABA or what the initial steps are after the ABA signal has been perceived. Figuring this out could help design plants that are more tolerant to drought and other types of abiotic stress. I am particularly interested in a class of signaling proteins known as “G proteins” that are paired with a receptor to recognize and communicate the ABA signal. (Interestingly, the basic mechanism of this type of signaling seems to be conserved from plants to humans.)
In addition, I have worked extensively on the genomics and signaling pathways involved with plant guard cells. As their name implies, guard cells literally “guard” microscopic pores on plant leaves by regulating their opening and closing, which controls a plant’s water loss and gas exchange. ABA is also a major player in regulating the size of guard cell openings, effectively regulating a plant’s drought response. Fine-tuning guard cell responses would be a major step towards generating plants better suited to adverse environmental conditions.
Leaflet: How did you become interested in plant science?
SP: I am originally from Varanasi, a city in Northern India that is one of the oldest and holiest cities in India. I studied Botany and Zoology and majored in Chemistry as an undergraduate at Banaras Hindu University, and then pursued a Masters Degree in Biotechnology there as well. I went to graduate school in New Delhi and earned my Ph.D. from the School of Life Sciences at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Plant Cell Signaling. Working for my Ph.D. with Dr. Sudhir Sopory, changed my perception towards science in general and plant biology in particular and I knew I would work with plants forever! The Danforth Center recently established a collaboration with the National Institute for Plant Genome Research, which is affiliated with JNU, so that’s a nice connection. I try to go back to India once a year.
My post-doctoral work in the lab of Prof. Sally Assmann at Penn State was a wonderful learning experience, and as I start my own lab, I hope to continue to learn from her example as a successful woman scientist.
Leaflet: You started at the Danforth Center in April. Any first impressions of St. Louis?
SP: St. Louis is a much bigger than State College, PA [where Dr. Pandey previously lived] but still not too big. Living in the U.S. is so different than everything I had imagined or heard of when I was in India, since the image you have of life here is what you see on TV. Maybe life is like that somewhere in the U.S., but not in Pennsylvania or Missouri. But that’s okay – I like how convenient everything is here and how friendly people are.
Leaflet: Starting a new lab is a lot of work! What are your next steps?
SP: At present I am busy setting up my lab! I need to buy equipment, supplies, start experiments, and apply for grants. I will also hire a post-doctoral fellow and hopefully a research technician soon. It is a lot of work, but exactly what I had imagined and hoped for. I’m looking forward to it!
Questions? Comments?
Thoughts? Ideas?
email us:
onthevine@danforthcenter.org
