Current People
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Postdoctoral Scholar
Dr. Camila Medina is a Postdoctoral Scholar at Oregon State Unversity’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Dr. Medina earned a PhD from University of Sao Paulo under the supervision of Dr. Diego Demarco studying the diversity and cellular anatomy of laticifers, specialized latex-producing cells, within the Sapindaceae. As a postdoc in the lab, Camila is working to understand the origin and development of vascular cells in maize leaves. Camila’s work involves histology, gene expression localization, plant anatomy, and lots of microscopy.
medinamm at oregonstate dot edu
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Postdoctoral Scholar
Dr. Brian Zebosi is a Postdoctoral Scholar at Oregon State Unversity’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Dr. Zebosi earned a PhD from Iowa State University under the supervision of Dr. Erik Vollbrecht studying the genetics of hormonal mutants in maize. As a postdoc in the lab, Brian is working to understand gene expression of sex determination in maize flowers by cloning and characterizing novel tasselseed mutants. Brians’s work involves gene mapping by whole genome sequencing, single cell transcriptomics, and lots of field genetics. Brian is co-mentored by and collaborates with Dr. Madelaine Bartlett (Sainsbury Lab, Cambridge, UK).
zebosib at oregonstate dot edu
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PhD Student
Diana Ruggiero is a PhD student at Oregon State Unversity’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Before joining the lab, Diana recieved a BA Computer Science at Bard College then worked in landscape restoration in Portland, Oregon. Diana’s research is focused on discovering cellular mechanisms of vein development using single cell transcriptomics and surveying the natural diversity of vein arragnement using deep learning approaches in maize.
Diana is a USDA NIFA Predoctoral Fellow (2024-67011-42999) and a 2024-2025 National Corn Growers Association Research Ambassador. Diana was previously an Oregon ARCS Scholar and a 2020 recipient of the Oregon State University Provost Scholarship.
ruggidi at oregonstate dot edu
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PhD Student
Nicholas Francis is a PhD Student in Botany at Oregon State Unversity’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Nicholas holds a BS in Botany and Plant Pathology from OSU and BA in Asian Studies from Occidental College. Prior to developing a passion for Botany and Agricultural Biotechnology, Nicholas served in the US Army. Upon re-entering civilian life, Nicholas led a succesfull career in business, focused on management and executive management of light commercial HVAC-R. Nicholas’s reseach focuses on understanding and manipulating plant pluripotency in plant tissue culture environments using maize cell lines.
francini at oregonstate dot edu
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AMP Masters Student
Araya Andersen is a AMP Masters Student in Botany at Oregon State University’s Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Araya is earning a BS in Botany and Plant Pathology from OSU and is enrolled in the Accelerated Masters Program (AMP) to enter a Masters in Fall 2025. Araya is deeply passionate about plants from the Araceae and has contributed to description of new species as well as revision of taxonomic relationships between them as an undergraduate research fellow. She is working to identify the homology of organs produced by the duckweed Spirodela polyrhiza, a super small aquatic Aroid that creates specialized sinking survival organs called ‘turions’ during stress. Araya is a proud Indigenous scholar with heritage from the Mnikhówožu band of the Cheyenne River tribe and the Aniibiminani-ziibiwininiwag band of the Turtle Mountain tribe.
anderara at oregonstate dot edu
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Places
The Leiboff Lab consists of 2400+ sqft of collaborative research space, shared with the labs of Dr. Molly Megraw and Dr. John Fowler within the Oregon State University, College of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. Our remodeled space was opened in Summer 2022 and provides a modern lab environment.
To examine development at the cellular level, we have a Leica DMi8 THUNDER inverted microscope and a Leica M205 FCA THUNDER stereoscope, which enables studies of entire tissues and live plant dissections. Both scopes are equipped with epifluorescence and Leica’s THUNDER computational dehazing method for near-subcellular resolution. We routinely use paraffin-embeded tissue histology and the preparation of microscope slides for plant anatomy.
The lab has typical molecular biology equipment, including thermal cyclers, incubators, and centrifuges. Through the Botany and Plant Pathology department, we also have access to high throughput tissue homogenization tools, a liquid handling robotics platform, qRT-PCR machines, cell sorting equipment, and a walk in seed storage room. Through the OSU Center for Quantitative Life Sciences, we have access to confocal microscopy, genomic library preparation / sequencing, and priority queing for high performance computing.
The Greenhouse
The lab occupies a 700 sqft climate-controlled greenhouse where maize and other large grasses can be grown year-round. Plant care, including watering and integrated pest management are conducted by College of Agricultural Sciences Greenhouse Operations Unit.
The lab plants a 1-acre summer nursery at the OSU Botany and Plant Pathology Farm. Field preparation, treatment, and watering are managed by the Botany Field Lab manager and staff. Most North America-adapted maize and sorghum germplasm grows well during our mild, dry summers. Our field season is typically June - October, with our spooky corn collected in time for Halloween.
Past People
