Academic focus: Vegetable physiology and climate resilience
Research summary: I conduct research in vegetable physiology with a strong focus on enhancing climate resilience. My research centers on understanding how environmental stressors such as temperature, water, salinity and light affect the physiological performance, growth and development, yield, and quality of vegetable crops. By integrating field and controlled environment experiments, I investigate plant responses at the whole plant and cellular levels, examining mechanisms like water-use efficiency, nutrient uptake and assimilation, photosynthetic performance, and hormonal regulation under stress conditions. The ultimate goal of my research program is to identify and promote sustainable management of genotype x environment x management (GxExM) strategies that enhance the resilience and adaptability of vegetable production systems in the face of increasing climate variability
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
I absolutely love spending time with my family going to the park, walking/hiking and generally being outside. I also love to mountain bike, watch baseball and hang out with friends.
What brought you to Cornell CALS?
The people of CALS SIPS are what ultimately made my decision to come to Cornell an easy one. When I was at my interview, I could feel the energy, collaborative nature and focus on stakeholder issues that the faculty, staff, students and administration have at CALS. It felt like a wonderful community to be a part of, and I am happy to be in CALS SIPS.
What do you think is important for people to understand about your field?
Climate change is already impacting vegetable production. Excessive rainfall, more frequent and longer heat waves, and the combination of extreme weather events are reducing yields, nutritional quality and shelf life. Knowledge of physiological responses to these weather events helps plant breeders develop climate-resilient cultivars. Physiological markers, such as stomatal density and conductance, chlorophyll fluorescence, and plant morphology, are used to screen genotypes to determine tolerance to a variety of environmental stressors. Finally, plant physiology alone is not enough. Interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaborations are essential to build climate resilient systems from seed to market, and it starts with stakeholders.
Why did you feel inspired to pursue a career in this field?
I have scientific curiosity and am passionate about training the next generation of scientists. Plant physiology is a rich field with complex biological processes like photosynthesis, hormone signaling, stress response and nutrient assimilation. I am fascinated by these plant processes and love to pass along my knowledge of these processes in unique ways to students and stakeholders. Additionally, we have a responsibility to help provide translational research solutions to help secure our food supplies for a growing population that is facing urgent challenges of climate change.
What advice do you have for students interested in your field of study?
Vegetable physiologists bridge the gap between the applied and basic plant sciences. Students must learn plant physiology, biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology to understand plant growth, development and response to environments. Students will get hand-on experience with field, greenhouse and lab projects that build practical skills. For example, students will learn how and why to take photosynthesis measurements and sampling for laboratory analysis utilizing analytical instruments to determine metabolite concentrations. Finally, vegetable physiologists must stay informed on global issues on climate change, food systems, sustainability and agricultural innovation to better understand the broader context to make research, education and outreach more meaningful and impactful.
Learn more about Casey from his CALS profile
