Dr. Cynthia Weinig, University of Wyoming, Co-PI.
Dr. Cynthia Weinig (PhD Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, Indiana University). Wyoming Excellence Chair in Botany. Dr. Weinig is a Professor in the Departments of Botany and Molecular Biology, and in the Program in Ecology. Her research focuses on plant evolutionary genetics, that is, the genetic underpinnings of plant adaptation to natural or agricultural settings, and has received over $40M in funding from the National Science Foundation, including an early career NSF Young Investigator’s Award as well as collaborative institutional awards such as the NSF EPSCoR. Dr. Weinig’s current research focuses on the interaction between plants and microbes (microscopic organisms). Her research in both crop and wild plant species seeks to identify both the plant traits that may attract beneficial microbes as well as plant growth responses to the presence of microbes. Dr. Weinig’s lab has hosted over 100 undergraduate students to collaborate in research, including WY Research Scholars and McNair scholars, as well as dozens of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. Dr. Weinig incorporates her interest and enthusiasm for plant-microbe interactions into undergraduate courses at the University of Wyoming, such as Genetics, and graduate courses in Plant Evolution of Development and Plant-Microbe Interactions.