People in the lab

Wendy Peer is an associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, and affiliated with the Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture and the Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology Research.  She is also an adjunct assistant professor in The Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at Purdue University. She earned B.S. degrees with honors in biology and chemistry from California State University, Bakersfield, and a Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research integrates biochemistry at the cellular level, e.g. auxin homeostasis, flavonoid function, with physiology at the organismal level to what occurs on the broader scale in natural, agricultural and built ecosystems.  Her current research focuses on seedling establishment and the integration of developmental and environmental signals that lead to successful seedling establishment and the effects of environmental change that impact seedling establishment. Elucidating the mechanisms of successful seedling establishment will produce new strategies for food, fuel and environmental sustainability and security.  Researchgate profile

Frances Trouth is a PhD candidate. She is using strawberries to investigate the effects of UV-B radiation on flavonoid profiles and post-harvest pathogen resistance. 

Kabelo Segobye is a PhD candidate and his co-advisor is Dr, Burkhard Schulz. Kabelo is working on mechanisms and genetics of herbicide resistance. He earned his Master's degree at Purdue University, and he plans to return to his native Botswana to apply what he has learned. 

Kasuni Wattarantenne is a Master's student. She is working on the mechanism of seedling establishment focusing on the M1 metalloprotease MPA1. 

Chinchu Harris was a undergraduate researcher in the lab. She is now a Master's student working on models of weed risk assessment and invasive species.

Virginia Velez is a Master's student in the lab, and she is working on secondary compounds and plant physiology. 

UMD Alumni

Dr. Jun Zhang received her Master's degree from Nanjing University where she worked on reactive oxygen species (ROS). Jun continued her research in ROS and oxidative processes. Jun has a post-doc with Dr. William Snell working on Chlamydomonas

Dr. Fernanda Mastrotti-Pereira received her PhD from the University of  Sao Paulo, Brazil. She did a "sandwich PhD" at the University of Maryland with Wendy Peer as her advisor. She did her research on the effects of phosphate and glyphosate in Eucalyptus. She is deciding where she wants to do her post-doc.