Keely Brown

NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)

New: After a long wait, the GRFP solicitation is live! Deadlines have been extended to early November, so applicants have a bit over a month to submit. www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

New Roots for Restoration: Building a foundation for interdisciplinary work in plant organismal biology and ecology to advance restoration in natural and agricultural ecosystems Soils are globally degraded due in part to conventional agriculture and wildland conversion. To address the global challenge of soil degradation, we formed an interdisciplinary, cross-institutional c....

Check out our new paper led by Dr. Alicia Foxx detailing the goals of the New Roots for Restoration Biological Integration Institute, which is focused on understanding natural and agricultural perennial plants 🥳

nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

P2P provides training and career development for folks looking to transition to plant biology. I'm currently mentoring one of this year's Fellows, so feel free to reach out if you have questions about this incredible program!

Pivot to Plants: Training Program for Plant and Data Science | Danforth Plant Science Center The Pivot2Plants Fellows Program is a 1-year training program for people interested in pivoting to a career in plant science or data science but have limited research experience.

Applications for the 2026 Pivot to Plants Fellows Program at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center are now open.

Location: St. Louis, MO
Application Deadline: October 15, 2025
Dates: Jan. 5, 2026 – Dec. 23, 2026
Estimated Stipend: $37,275

Learn more: www.danforthcenter.org/our-work/edu...

Good news! KU's IRACDA program was reinstated! We are now taking applications for postdocs. Please spread the word.

sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Sear...

Please share broadly: I am looking for a postdoctoral fellow to work on a collaborative project on the temporal population genomics of invasive Capeweed (using contemporary and herbarium genomics), with ‪‪@shaky-dingo.bsky.social‬ and colleagues

Please share — Michigan State Plant Biology is searching for an Herbarium Director! Tenure stream, open rank faculty position balancing research, teaching, service, and admin responsibilities. Join us! Reach out to me or @emjo.bsky.social with questions!

plantbiology.natsci.msu.edu/job-postings...

1) Are you an Assistant Professor studying evolutionary biology?

2) Are you in the US?

3) Would you like to give a research seminar in Iowa?

4) Are you available to travel September 4-6?

If you can answer YES x4, please DM me ASAP, or comment below.

Gene Expression Divergence Between Locally Adapted Inland Annual and Coastal Perennial Ecotypes of Mimulus guttatus Across Developmental Stages The action of natural selection across heterogeneous natural landscapes drives local adaptation and the formation of plant ecotypes, the precursors to new species. Plant ecotypes typically differ sig...

New paper out of the lab today: “Gene Expression Divergence Between Locally Adapted Inland Annual and Coastal Perennial Ecotypes of Mimulus guttatus Across Developmental Stages” onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Wonderful (and humble) essay on mentorship by Brandon Gaut, on occasion of Brandon receiving the inaugural Mentorship Award of @genetics-gsa.bsky.social. I hope this will be widely read!

academic.oup.com/genetics/art...

Schematic depicting the mapping from genotype to fitness.

#Viewpoint: Measuring #NaturalSelection on the transcriptome

John R. Stinchcombe & John K. Kelly 👇

📖 nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

#LatestIssue

"What you do for your mentees, do because it's right" - absolutely, and something I needed to be reminded of after a tough REU cohort

US-CAN Doctoral Excellence Award Western University, in vibrant London, Ontario, delivers an academic and student experience second to none.

I'm recruiting a US PhD student to come to Canada to work on the genetic and neural basis of female mating behaviour. Fellowship of ~$40k per year. Contact me if interested in submitting an application. Details of eligibility here!
grad.uwo.ca/finances/wes...

So at least we'll have that to look forward to

Quantifying the Evolution of SNPs That Affect RNA Secondary Structure in Arabidopsis thaliana Genes Abstract. Single-stranded RNA molecules can form intramolecular bonds between nucleotides to create secondary structures. These structures can have phenoty

Excited to share our new paper in @molbioevol.bsky.social , led by @galenm.bsky.social !!! We show that mutations affecting RNA secondary structure in *Arabidopsis thaliana* are shaped by selection and linked to gene expression and the environment.
🔗 academic.oup.com/mbe/article/...

Image Text: Phenomics/Whole Plant. Tuesday, July 29, 2025. 1:30 PM - 3:15 PM. Courtney Leisner, Masatsugu Toyota, David Horvath, and Anna Casto. Virginia Tech | Saitama University | USDA-ARS-ETSARC | Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

📣#PlantBio2025 daily highlight: Phenomics/Whole Plant Concurrent Session!🌱https://buff.ly/QRYD1aC

#plantscience

I can’t get over this looming fear for my career. I was optimistic pre-2025. Now I can’t stop thinking about how many scientists of my generation will have to give up on science within a few years.

Mutational load and adaptive variation are shaped by climate and species range dynamics in Vitis arizonica Genetic load can reduce fitness and hinder adaptation. While its genetic underpinnings are well established, the influence of environmental variation on genetic load is less well characterized, as i.....

Our work on the landscape genomics of *Vitis arizonica* is now published in @newphyt.bsky.social !!!

Big thanks to Jonás Aguirre-Liguori, Garren Gaut, and Brandon Gaut (all sadly not on bsky) for making this possible!

Distinguished professor proves effective mentorship is both art and science For the inaugural recipient of the Genetics Society of America Mentorship Award Dr. Brandon Gaut, leading a lab is not only scientific but personal.

Absolutely thrilled to see Dr. Brandon Gaut receive the inaugural @genetics-gsa.bsky.social Mentorship Award! 🏆🎉

Brandon brings humanity back to science, supports inclusive training, and pushes back on the publish-or-perish culture. So well deserved—congrats! 👏🙌

genestogenomes.org/distinguishe...

Team BioQumulate is up next! Their Big Idea looks to plants to remove contaminants from unusable soil and toxic sites. Tune in to hear from @keelybrownphd.bsky.social, Anna Castro, and Josh Sumner: www.danforthcenter.org/live/
#BigIdeas2025

My NSF postdoctoral fellowship was one of the grants terminated yesterday. Devastating is an understatement. Thankful for a supportive admin with a plan to support me for now.

Postdoctoral Researcher- Brady Lab University of California, Davis is hiring. Apply now!

We have a postdoc position that just opened up in the Brady lab on reprogramming tomato root system architecture in response to changes in nutrient availability - please consider applying! recruit.ucdavis.edu/JPF07095

It may not mean much, but having been one of your students, I can say it meant a lot knowing that you cared!

Fight for the NEH like you would for NIH and NSF. The attack on one is an attack on all. Solidarity is required and needs to include K-12 educators and staff. The Trump administration is waging war against learning on multiple fronts.

Now 4 of my students have lost their scholarships/stipends mid-degree. Fuck everything. I'm so pissed off and heartbroken for them.

Our newest PlantCV Quarterly Newsletter is here, with great updates and highlights! Check it out, and subscribe to get it in your inbox: preview.mailerlite.io/emails/webvi...

PlantCV December Newsletter

Interested in plant phenotyping using image analysis? Check out the latest updates to PlantCV and sign up for the newsletter so you never miss out on our new exciting features!
preview.mailerlite.io/preview/9724...

Herbarium image pink flowers

Lindley herbarium specimen

Darwin herbarium specimen

Censor herbarium specimen

We are advertising two fabulous jobs at the Cambridge University Herbarium.

Collection Manager: jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/49404/

Collections & Digitisation Assistant: jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/49378/

Incredible collection of 1.1 million specimens including most of Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle material.

ASU is searching for a new director for our biocollections! If you are an associate or full professor (or know one) and are interested in curating a huge collection of Sonoran desert (and other places) organisms, give us a look!

apply.interfolio.com/159166