Leslie Harris is an PhD Student in Botany at Oregon State Unversity’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Leslie holds a BS in Botany from OSU, where he first started working in the lab. Prior to transferring to OSU, Leslie served in the USMC and began a degree at Irvine Valley College. Leslie is a first generation college graduate. Leslie’s reseach focuses on the molecular genetic characterization of Wavy Auricle in Blade 2, a new maize leaf mutant.

Leslie is the 2022 winner of the OSU BPP Diversity Advancement Graduate Assistantship.