Tag: PMCB

Close-up of a researcher using fine tweezers to handle a small green plant sample on a glass slide under bright laboratory lighting.

Inside UF’s PMCB Program Shaping Interdisciplinary Scientists

by Eva Sailly
April 30, 2026

UF's Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (PMCB) Graduate Program grew from the understanding that addressing complex challenges in plant science requires collaboration.   Built Against the Grain Dr. Indra Vasil joined UF in 1967, ... READ MORE

Category: UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Horticultural Sciences Department, Hunter Strickland, Indra K. Vasil, Julia Ball, Ph.D., Plant Molecular And Cellular Biology, PMCB, Student, Teaching, Zhonglin Mou
Triptych of velvet bean related research. [From Left to right] biological scientist pipettes liquids in tray; a group of velvet bean pods at the research plot in Citra; close up of soy beans cooked at home (similar to velvet beans as researchers are attempting to elevate L-DOPA levels).

Velvet Bean’s Potential for Parkinson’s Treatment

by Eva Sailly
April 2, 2026

Mucuna pruriens, or velvet bean, naturally produces L-DOPA, the precursor to dopamine and the primary compound used to manage symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. When neurons lose the ability to produce dopamine, patients ... READ MORE

Category: Crops, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Crop Breeding, Dr. Guodong Liu, Dr. Jeongim Kim, Dr. Kelly Balmant, Dr. Md Jahidul Islam Shohag, Food Is Medicine, Horticultural Sciences, Horticultural Sciences Department, Julia Ball, L-DOPA, Max Munro, Parkinson's Disease, Plant Breeding, Plant Genetics, Plant Metabolism, Plant-based Medicine, PMCB, UF Health, Velvet Bean
A eppendorf multi pipet tool. Laboratory equipment, science and research.

Graduate Student Spotlight with Gabriella Dickinson: Exploring Plant Metabolism through Biochemistry

by Eva Sailly
August 5, 2025

Gabriella Dickinson, our student spotlight, is a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology (PMCB) program at the University of Florida. Working in Dr. Gilles Basset’s lab, she studies the biosynthesis of prenylated ... READ MORE

Category: Curriculum, Horticulture, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching
Tags: Basset Lab, Graduate Student, Horticultural Sciences, Ph.D., Plant Breeding, Plant Molecular And Cellular Biology, Plant Science, PMCB, Student, Teaching, UF/IFAS CALS
Nadia Mourad, PMCB Ph.D Candidate in Dr. Koch's Maize Greenhouse in white lab coat

Graduate Student Spotlight with Nadia Mourad: Advancing Maize Genetics

by Eva Sailly
July 23, 2025

It took one elective to pivot Nadia's initial pursuit of human health research into a Ph.D. candidate in the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Program. Nadia Mourad now works under the mentorship of Dr. Karen Koch, who was recently honored ... READ MORE

Category: Clubs & Volunteers, Curriculum, Professional Development, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Research, UF/IFAS Teaching, Work & Life
Tags: Corn, De Sousa, Genetics, Horticultural Sciences, Karen Koch, Koch, Maize, Nadia Mourad, Plant Breeding, Plant Molecular And Cellular Biology, PMCB, Student, Teaching

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