Joel Franklin Swift

Joel is a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Research Fellow. His research investigates the mechanisms by which plants tolerate flooding. While water is a basic requirement for plants, too much can have dramatic consequences. When plants are flooded, roots rapidly deplete available oxygen leading to oxygen starvation, the buildup of toxins, and eventually plant death. This stress can fundamentally alter roots at the anatomical level, and these microscopic alterations in turn change the root habit occupied by microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, fungi, viruses). Joel’s work aims to explore links among plant genetics, root anatomy and the microbiome (the collection of microorganisms) to understand their effects on plant flood responses.