Congratulations to Seren Villwock, Tanner Robison, Byron Rusnak, Stephanie Preising, Libby Indermaur, Justin Scholten, Emmalee Wrightstone, and Claire Ravenburg, recipients of the 2025 Barbara McClintock Graduate Student Award.
Seren Villwock is a graduate student in the Jannink program. Her research focuses on
Tanner Robison is a graduate student working with Fay-Wei Li. His thesis research concerns the mechanism of pyrenoid-based CO2-concentration with implications for engineering better photosynthesis.
Byron Rusnak is a graduate student with Adrienne Roeder. Byron uses imaging and genetic techniques to measure the cellular signaling and growth patterns that lead to the precise and coordinated development of plant sepals
Stephanie Preising is a graduate student working with Michele Heck. Her research focuses on molecular mechanisms regulating insect transmission of plant pathogens and use of this knowledge to create practical solutions to vector-borne plant diseases
Libby Indermaur works in the program of Chris Smart. She studies fungi that cause disease on vegetable crops, including pumpkin and rhubarb, and develops tools for better management of these pathogens
Justin Scholten works in the program of Chelsea Specht. He is interested in the principles and evolutionary implications of hybridization, with a focus on investigating cases of homoploid hybrid speciation in Japanese species of Arisaema.
Emmalee Wrightstone is a graduate student with Li Li. She focuses on
Claire Ravenburg is a graduate student in the program of Klaas van Wijk. She studies chloroplast protein degradation by the Caseinolytic protease (Clp) system, a process which is essential for chloroplast biogenesis.
The Barbara McClintock Graduate Student Award is made possible by an endowment from Dr. Robert Rabson to honor outstanding senior graduate students studying in the Plant Sciences (Plant Biology, Plant Pathology & Plant-Microbe Biology, Plant Breeding, Horticulture or Soil & Crop Sciences) at Cornell. It is awarded annually and students are selected based on their academic, research, teaching, and outreach achievements as well as on their potential to continue an outstanding career in the Plant Sciences.