My primary research interests are in the physiological and molecular mechanisms of plant interactions with the physical environment. Past research subjects have included air pollutant injury, root cell plasticity in response to nutrient deficiency, plant behavioral movements in response to light and temperature, and plant response to global change (elevated CO2). Currently my program is focused on understanding the physiological and genetic basis for within-species variations in phenological traits such as spring bloom. Despite being one of the most dramatic landscape and ecosystem events of the annual cycle, very little is known about the physiological and genetic regulation of dormancy in perennial species. My group has employed classical genetics and modern genomics to uncover important regulators of the developmental events associated with growth cessation, bud formation and endodormancy development. Our approaches have made use of recent advances in high-throughput sequencing technology for global gene expression and molecular marker development
