Gilbert’s research recognized by the American Society of Plant Biologists’ early investigator award

Kadeem Gilbert

Kadeem J. Gilbert, W.K. Kellogg Biological Station faculty member and assistant professor in the Michigan State University College of Natural Science’s Department of Plant Biology, has received a prestigious award that recognizes outstanding young plant scientists.

Gilbert is the recipient of the 2023 Eric E. Conn Young Investigator award from the American Society of Plant Biologists. The award—named in honor of the late Dr. Eric E. Conn, a distinguished biochemist, and plant physiologist—recognizes young scientists who have made significant contributions with their research and have demonstrated exceptional potential for continued research excellence in the field of plant biology. It’s a biennial award that’s awarded to a single person nationally every other year.

About Kadeem Gilbert

Kadeem Gilbert received his Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University in 2019, investigating trait evolution and the ecology of arthropod/microbial interactions in the tropical pitcher plant genus Nepenthes. Prior to joining the faculty at KBS in 2021, he was a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture postdoctoral fellow at the Pennsylvania State University, where he extended his work to agriculturally-relevant systems by examining the molecular underpinnings of leaf surface pH regulation and its consequences to the phylloplane microbiome in Beta and Gossypium, as well as Nepenthes.

The overarching focus of the Gilbert Lab is studying interactions between plants and other organisms—especially symbiotic ones. Of particular interest is examining the ways in which plants are able to physiologically alter abiotic conditions on their leaf surfaces, and how such environmental regulation may mediate those interactions with symbionts. Another specialty of the lab is the biology of carnivorous plants. To learn more, visit gilbertlab.weebly.com.

About the American Society of Plant Biologists

ASPB is a professional scientific society, headquartered in Rockville, MD, that is devoted to the advancement of the plant sciences worldwide. With a membership of some 3,000 plant scientists from throughout the United States and around the world, the Society publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals, The Plant Cell and Plant Physiology, and co-publishes the Open Access journal Plant Direct. ASPB also hosts the annual Plant Biology conference; supports plant science outreach, engagement, and advocacy; and powers the Plantae digital ecosystem for plant scientists.

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