Biosketch

Julia Bailey-Serres is a plant biologist known for her research on mechansims of plant adaptive responses to enviornmental stresses. She is recognized for the in-depth dissection of the function of SUBMERGENCE 1A gene, responsible for survival of rice plants under prolonged submergence as evidenced by its successful use in breeding programs that has led to stabilizing rice grain yield in flood-prone regions of Asia. In addition, she established technologies to uncover the activity of genes in specific cell types of multicellular organisms, through the capture of ribosomes and the associated mRNAs. Bailey-Serres was born and raised in California, graduated from the University of Utah with a B.S. in biology and the University of Edinburgh with a Ph.D. in botany. She began to work on anaerobiosis and mRNA translation as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, an interest she has maintained as a faculty of the University of California, Riverside since 1990. She has mentored 20 postdoctoral researchers and 19 doctoral students and currently directs the Center for Plant Cell Biology. Bailey-Serres is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB). She has served as Secretary for ASPB and as an Associate editor for several journals.

Research Interests

Bailey-Serres' group studies the resilience mechanisms of plants that help to safeguard crop yields in unpredictable environments. She is recognized for the in-depth dissection of the function of the SUBMERGENCE 1A gene of rice that enables survival of prolonged complete submergence, as evidenced by its stabilizing effect on grain yield in flood-prone regions of Asia. Her collaborative research has defined how plants sense and respond to deficiencies in cellular oxygen and energy. Her group has pioneered technologies that can uncover gene activity and regulatory networks in specific cell types - from chromatin to mRNAs loaded with ribosomes. Current research in the Bailey-Serres group focuses on the regulation of metabolic and developmental plasticity in response to extremes in water and nutrient availability in rice and other crops.

Membership Type

Member

Election Year

2016

Primary Section

Section 62: Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences

Secondary Section

Section 25: Plant Biology