St. Louis Science Center’s Sci-FEAST
On November 15, 2025, members of the Institute shared the work we do at Sci-FEAST, a large public event at the St. Louis Science Center. This event showed how STEM concepts are important in food and agriculture.
New Roots Symposium at Botany 2024
Members of the Institute presented their work at the Botanical Society of America’s annual meeting in Grand Rapids, MI on June 15-19, 2024. This symposium discussed our work at integrating plant traits, communities, and the soil ecosphere to advance restoration of natural and agricultural systems (symposium).
New Roots 2024 Annual Meeting at University of Kansas
Members of the Institute met at the University of Kansas (Lawrence, KS) to present research updates, collaborate to set goals for the next year, visit field sites, and catch up with BII members from all across the country.
NSF Biological Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting
Drs. Kristine Callis-Duehl (DDPSC), Molly Hanlon (DDPSC), Allison Miller (DDPSC), Ben Sikes (KU), and Stella Woeltjen (DDPSC) attended the NSF Biology Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting in Washington, DC on Jan 22-23, 2024. At this meeting, Dr. Miller gave an oral presentation on the science New Roots for Restoration has been doing towards the integration plant traits, communities, and soil ecosphere to advance the restoration of natural and agricultural systems. Please go here for the NRR BII posters presented at this meeting.
Presentations
Bever, J.D., Podzikowski, L.Y., Burrill, H., Guangzhou, W., Hawkins, J., Bernhardt, B., Foster, B., Schultz, P. (2024, June 18). Plant trait diversity drives terrestrial productivity and ecosystem function: Pathogen dilution and resource partitioning jointly generate positive productivity gains with plant biodiversity. (2024, June 18). Botany 2024. Grand Rapids, MI.
Bever, J.D., Podzikowski, L.Y., Zhou, Burrill H.M., Duell, Eppinga, M.B., Schultz, P.A. (2023, May 6). More breakfast with biodiversity: Pathogen dilution drives overyielding in unmanaged and agricultural ecosystems. Symposium in honor of Ivette Perfecto, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
Cabrera M. (2022, October). Phenotypic effects of salt stress on Seashore Paspalum, Biology Integration Institutes 2022 Awardees Meeting.
Carpenter, K., Gordon, T., Leung, C., Acevedo M. (2023, April 28). [individual presentations, titles unknown]. Chicago Botanic Garden REU Symposium, University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, IL.
Carpenter, K. Foxx, A., Johnson M. (2024, January 22). Exploring plant interactions for restoration: A focus on above and belowground traits. Biology Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting, Washington DC.
Hanlon, M., Woeltjen, S., Miller, A. (2024, January 22). Root traits and resource allocation in emerging herbaceous perennial crop plants. Biology Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting, Washington DC.
Hanlon, M., Gunn, S., Topp, C., Miller, A. (2024, January 22). Challenges and approaches in phenotyping roots of perennial plants. Biology Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting, Washington DC.
Kretzler, B., Marques, E., Gunn, S., Wong, K., Darby, H., Topp, C., Kraft, J., von Wettberg, E. (2024, June 18). Intercropping for resilience: Examining relationships between plant-soil-microbe interactions and crop productivity in agroecosystems utilizing multiple species. Botany 2024. Grand Rapids, MI.
Langewisch, T., Arango-Caro, S., Kaggwa, R., Callis-Duehl, K. (2024, January 22). Cultivating a sense of belonging in trainees across geographically separated institutions. Biology Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting, Washington DC. [poster]
Langewisch, T., Arango-Caro, S., Kaggwa, R., Callis-Duehl, K. (2024, June 18). Elevating STEM leadership: A multi-tiered, cross-disciplinary mentoring and training approach. Botany 2024, Grand Rapids, MI.
Miller AJ. (2024, January 22), New Roots for Restoration: integrating plant traits, communities, and soil ecosphere to advance restoration of natural and agricultural systems, Biology Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting, Washington DC.
McKenna, T., Callan, P., Crews, T., Havens, K., Miller, A., Okonkwo, R., Udawatta, L., van der Pol, E., von Wettberg, Zerega. (2024, January 22). Do root/shoot traits vary in monocultures vs. polycultures of perennial crops, and does this predict production?, Biology Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting, Washington DC.
Miller AJ. (2023, January). New Roots for Restoration Biology Integration Institute. University of Missouri Center for Agroforestry Symposium, virtual.
Miller AJ. (2023, April 14). Plant phenomics to expedite breeding in perennial herbaceous species [Invited speaker]. University of Wisconsin Department of Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics.
Miller AJ. (2023, March 17). Trait variation and covariation in long-lived plants: understanding form, function, and phenotypic plasticity to advance food and ecosystem security. Arkansas State University/Arkansas Biosciences Institute.
Miller AJ. (2023, January 27). Trait variation and covariation in long-lived plants: understanding form, function, and phenotypic plasticity to advance food and ecosystem security [Invited speaker]. Virginia Tech University Translational Plant Sciences Symposium, Blacksburg, VA.
Okonkwo, K., Hanlon, M., McKenna, T., Miller, A. (2024, June 18). Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) growth and yield as influenced by local environment. Botany 2024. Grand Rapids, MI.
Podzikowski, L., Wang, G., Hawkins, J., Hoffpauir, Sikes, B., Bever, J. (2024, January 22). Functional trait diversity and microbial roles in plant community overyielding. Biology Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting, Washington DC.
Sikes, B., Hansen, P., Kelly, J. (2022, August 14-19). Microbial feedbacks are no match for genotypic control of flowering traits in a model annual plant [Invited Speaker]. Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Swift, J., Ginnan, N., Ellis, M., Ford, N., Kural, C., Thimesch, D., Bengfort, L., Asif, M., Wagner, M. (2024, June 18). Tripsacum dactyloids: A model for exploring form, function, and the microbiome in an ever-changing global climate. Botany 2024. Grand Rapids, MI.
Tran V., Harris Z., Rubin M., Miller A. (2023, April). Characterizing patterns of above- and below-ground covariation in natural populations of American Licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota). Saint Louis University Department of Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium, St. Louis, MO.
Werynski A., Piotter E., Rubin MJ., Hanlon M., Miller AJ. (2023, April). Root and shoot covariation in families of Elymus glaucus. Saint Louis University Department of Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium, St. Louis, MO.
Woeltjen, S., Baxter I., Carnahan, A., Casto, A., Fahlgren, N. Gehan, M., Miller, A., Schuhl, H., Srivastava, D., Stylianou, A. (2024, January 22). Developing in-field imagining methods for aboveground phenotypping of non-model perennial species. Biology Integration Institutes 2024 Awardees Meeting, Washington DC.
Von Wettberg, E. (2023, April 18). Save your own seeds [outreach event]. South Burlington Public Library, South Birlington, VT.
Von Wetterg, E. Road trips for research, Annie Schmitt Career Celebration Symposium, University of California, Davis.
Werynski A., Piotter E., Rubin MJ., Hanlon M., Miller AJ. (2023, April). Root and shoot covariation in families of Elymus glaucus. Saint Louis University Department of Biology Undergraduate Research Symposium, St. Louis, MO.
Zeldin, J., Kramer, A., Dethlefs, T. (2024, June 18). Intraspecific functional trait structure and coordination in Schizachyrium scoparium - evaluating and applying trait variation for ecological restoration. Botany 2024. Grand Rapids, MI.
(2022, August 14-19). Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Speaker presentations by Bever, J. D. and Podzikowski, L.Y.
Two poster presentations by graduate and undergraduate students
St. Louis Science Center