Bailey-Serres lab: My motivation as a plant biologist is to impact global food security, which is especially important now in a time when climate change threatens crop yields. As much as I believe basic research and foundational knowledge are important to find solutions, I also want to see the impact these findings can have on global agriculture. In my Ph.D. research, I study how gene networks respond to water extreme stresses within specific cell layers in rice roots. With support from the Plants3D program, I want to use synthetic biology to translate knowledge of gene networks to manipulate aspects of root development and metabolism in crop plants to provide tolerance to water extreme stresses and nutrients.