ABOUT THE LABSpace BiologyThe focus of the VDB lab is two-fold. First, we aim to understand how plants grow and respond to the novel spaceflight environment. For future colonization of the Moon or Mars to be successful, humans will have to grow plants as a replenishable source of food. This is a NASA priority for the future of space exploration.
Second, we aim to understand the fundamentals of plant growth response, or "tropisms." Plants are unable to flee from changing environmental conditions, and thus have evolved growth mediated movements as a means of responding to external stimuli. This is achieved through growing plants on the International Space Station (ISS) or through using simulated microgravity devices in the lab at Louisiana Tech University. In addition, we aim to characterize the genetic and molecular underpinnings of how plants perceive and respond to their environment through growth mediated movements termed "Tropisms." |
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PORTFOLIORecent ProjectsRecently we were part of a project to grow plants on the International Space Station to determine how plants respond to multiple environmental stimuli when deciding their growth strategies.
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Arabidopsis thaliana
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