Doctoral student Gann named American Society of Plant Biologists Ambassador

Fast facts

Gann conducts Agricultural Experiment Station research for his Ph.D. thesis
He is in third year of doctoral cell and molecular biology program

FAYETTEVILLE — Peter James Icalia Gann, a University of Arkansas doctoral student, has been selected to serve as an ambassador for the American Society of Plant Biologists.
The organization typically selects around 15 undergraduates, graduate students and early-career professionals from around the world who exhibit potential as future young leaders through their current work in the field of plant biology to serve as ambassadors.
Gann is in his third year in the doctoral cell and molecular biology program in the U of A’s Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. Vibha Srivastava, professor of plant biology in the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station’s department of crop, soil and environmental sciences, is his adviser.
The experiment station is the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. Like most of the experiment station’s Fayetteville-based researchers, Srivastava also has a teaching appointment in Bumpers College. Many of the college’s graduate students, like Gann, conduct their thesis research as part of experiment station research programs.

As an ambassador, Gann has the registration fee to the 2021 Plant Biology Conference waived, will write an article reviewing the conference, has the opportunity to serve on committees, will represent the society in various activities and propose funded activities for the ambassadors.
Gann's research includes experimenting on the starch biosynthetic process in rice. He's in the process of analyzing gene functions and controlling them through gene editing such as CRISPR/Cas9 to improve rice grain quality.
He presented a portion of his work during the U of A's Three-Minute Thesis competition in January 2021 and finished first in the interdisciplinary category.
Gann works with Srivastava and Paul Allen Counce, also an experiment station researcher who is stationed at the Division of Agriculture’s Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart.
Srivastava teaches and conducts research on plant biotechnology, molecular genetics and plant molecular biology areas, and Counce conducts agronomic research to increase understanding of physiological yield-limiting factors of the rice plant and crops, and processes to increase rice yields. Gann also works with Betty Martin, who recently retired from the U of A's Institute for Nanoscience and Engineering in the College of Engineering.
The ASPB was founded in 1924 to promote the growth and development of plant biology, encourage and publish research, and promote the interests, growth and education of plant scientists. The society provides a forum for molecular and cellular biology and serves the basic interests of plant science.
The ambassadors program was established to enlist early career and industry scientists to contribute to the overarching missions of the society, including serving as a liaison between ASPB and local communities at outreach events, conferences, training sessions or on social media.