SIPS Plant Biology Section
Without plants, life on earth would cease to exist. Plants shape our environment and provide us with food, medicine, clothing and shelter. Today we are faced with an unprecedented series of challenges — global climate change, food shortages, rapid loss of biodiversity and new and evolving diseases are threatening both the health of the planet as well as human health and well-being.
Through its broad-based and innovative studies of basic plant biology, the Plant Biology section at Cornell University's School of Integrative Plant Science is positioned to contribute real and impactful solutions to these problems at local, state, national and global scales. Learn more about the history of our section and the vision of our school.
Plant Biology
Center of research on fundamental biology of plant development, signaling, genetics, environmental interactions and systematics.
Graduate and undergraduate training
Plant Biology offers degrees and training opportunities at all stages of the educational pipeline.
Graduate field of plant biology
Students interested in obtaining an MS or PhD degree in the graduate field of plant Biology can select from a variety of research areas and concentrations, reflecting the broad diversity of faculty research in the Plant Biology Section.
Undergraduate — Plant sciences major
Undergraduates in the plant sciences major can select from a diverse set of concentrations including plant molecular, cellular and developmental biology, plant evolution and diversity, plant computational biology, and plants and human health.
Undergraduate — Plant Biology Concentration
Undergraduates majoring in biology can choose the plant biology concentration.
Undergraduate research — Plant Genome Internship
The NSF sponsored Plant Genome Internship introduces high school and undergraduate students to state-of-the-art techniques in plant biology and trains students in scientific ethics, laboratory safety, and data presentation.
Undergrad Research - other
The Office of Undergraduate Research provides information about exploring the wealth of research opportunities at Cornell.
The Honors Program in Biological Sciences is designed to offer advanced training in laboratory and field research through the performance of an original research project under the direct guidance of a member of the Cornell faculty.
Bailey Hortorium
News from the SIPS Plant Biology Section
Learn more about our recent developments and discoveries.
News
A Cornell research team led by Michael Scanlon, professor of plant biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Integrative Plant Science, recently reported new insights into the patterns of gene expression in maize stem...
News
The method is described in a paper, “Small subunits can determine enzyme kinetics of tobacco Rubisco expressed in Escherichia coli,” published Sept. 14 in the journal Nature Plants. Scientists have known that crop yields would increase if they...
News
Scientists know that some mRNA – which carries genetic code to a living organism’s protein-making machinery – are making the journey from root to shoot. But they don’t know which of the thousands of strands are purposely trying to share genetic...
News
Why do your arms grow the same length at the same time? New research shows that hormone signaling plays a critical role in controlling how organs develop — in plants, animals and humans.
News
The report, “The Penium margaritaceum Genome: Hallmarks of the Origins of Land Plants,” was published May 21 in the journal Cell. Penium margaritaceum belongs to a group of freshwater algae called charophytes, and specifically to a subgroup...