Frontiers and Techniques In Plant Science
June 29 - July 19, 2018
Application Deadline: April 15, 2018

Instructors:

Sean Cutler, University of California Riverside
José Dinneny, Stanford University
Uta Paszkowski, University of Cambridge, UK

See the roll of honor - who's taken the course in the past

The Frontiers and Techniques in Plant Science course provides an intensive overview of topics in genomics, genetics, physiology, biochemistry, development, and evolution and hands-on experiences in molecular, imaging, computational and high throughput approaches to understanding plant biology. It emphasizes recent results from model organisms including Arabidopsis, maize and tomato as well as a variety of other plants and provides an introduction to current methods used in basic and applied plant biology, both theoretically and practically. The seminar series will include plant morphology and anatomy, development, evolution, light and circadian biology, hormones, small RNAs and epigenetic inheritance, biotic and abiotic interactions, plant biochemistry, crop domestication, and applications addressing current agronomic problems. Speakers will provide expert overviews of their fields, followed by in-depth discussions of their own work. The laboratory sessions will provide exposure to cutting edge experimental and computational techniques currently used in plant research. These include approaches for studying plant development, regulatory networks, transient gene expression, cell-type specific gene expression analysis, computational large-scale data analysis, applications of fluorescent proteins including live imaging, genome editing, and chromatin immunoprecipitation.

Gain hands-on experience in:

-      Computational tools and environments for genome assembly

-      Plant imaging and image analysis

-      Design and use of fluorescent sensors

-      Transcriptomics

-      Identification of quantitative trait loci

-      Mapping by sequencing

-      Mathematical modeling of development and hormone action

-      Purification of cell-type specific nuclei (INTACT)

-      High throughput cloning

2018 Guest Speakers:

Julia Bailey-Serres, University of California, Riverside
David Baulcombe, University of Cambridge, UK
Enrico Coen, Johns Innes Centre, UK
Liam Dolan, 
University of Oxford, UK
Julian Hibberd,
 University of Cambridge, UK
Georg Jander, Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research
Mark Johnson,
 Brown University
Alexander Jones, University of Cambridge, UK
Daniel Koenig, 
University of California, Riverside
Julie Law, 
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Robert Martienssen, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Giles Oldroyd,
 John Innes Center, UK
Ullas Pedmale, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Nicholas Provart, University of Toronto, Canada
Chris Rogers, University of Cambridge, UK
Shin-Han Shiu,
 Michigan State University
Neelima Sinha, University of California, Davis
Chris Surridge, Nature Plants, UK
Dan Voytas, University of Minnesota
Detlef Weigel, Max Planck Institute, Germany
Olivia Wilkins, McGill University, Canada
Jason Williams, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory


Support & Stipends

 Major support provided by the National Science Foundation


Stipends are available to offset tuition costs as follows:

       

US applicants (National Science Foundation)
Interdisciplinary Fellowships (transitioning from outside biology) & Scholarships (transitioning from other biological disciplines) (Helmsley Charitable Trust)
International applicants (Howard Hughes Medical Institute)

Please indicate your eligibility for funding in your stipend request submitted when you apply to the course. Stipend requests do not affect selection decisions made by the instructors. 

Cost (including board and lodging): $4,895

No fees are due until you have completed the full application process and are accepted into the course. Students accepted into the course should plan to arrive by early evening on June 28 and plan to depart after lunch on July 19.

Before applying, ensure you have 1) Personal statement/essay; 2) Letter(s) of recommendation; 3) Curriculum vitae/resume (optional); 4) Financial aid request (optional). More details


If you are not ready to fully apply but wish to express interest in applying, receive a reminder two weeks prior to the deadline, and tell us about your financial aid requirements, click below: