Sally Assmann Elected to Lead ASPB in 2008–2009

Sally Assman

Sarah M. (Sally) Assmann becomes president-elect October 1 and is slated to become ASPB president next October for the 2008–2009 term.

Sally is currently the Waller Professor of Biology at Penn State University. She received her BA in biology from Williams College in 1980 and her PhD in biology from Stanford University in 1985 with Eduardo Zeiger. After a postdoctorate at the University of California, Riverside, with Rob Leonard, she joined the Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Department at Harvard University as an assistant professor in 1987 and continued there as an associate professor. In 1993, she moved to the Biology Department at Penn State.

Sally’s research focuses on cellular signaling in plants, with a particular interest in guard cells. Her group takes a multilevel approach to elucidation of signal transduction cascades, drawing on methods ranging from single-cell electrophysiology and ionic imaging; to molecular genetic, genomic, and proteomics approaches; to whole plant physiology. Recently, Sally and her collaborators have initiated the use of systems biology methods to construct predictive models of guard cell signaling. Another major research focus of Sally’s group is on the roles of heterotrimeric G-proteins in plant development and environmental response. She has demonstrated that these key signaling proteins regulate a diversity of ion transport, hormonal, and developmental processes.

Sally teaches introductory plant physiology to first-year undergraduates and a laboratory course on cell biology techniques to beginning graduate students. Her professional activities include grant review panels for NSF, DOE, and USDA; in 2004 she was program manager for the USDA Developmental Processes in Crop Species panel. Sally has served in an editorial capacity for a number of journals, including Plant, Cell, & Environment, Plant and Cell Physiology, and Plant Physiology. Since 1998 she has been a co-editor for The Plant Cell, where she is currently co-editor for a special Perspective Series on Large-Scale Biology. She is also currently guest editor for a Plant, Cell, & Environment special issue on guard cells. Other service to ASPB includes membership on the Publications Committee from 2000 to 2005, co-organizer of the “Biology of Transpiration” meeting held in 2006, and current service on the board of directors of the Education Foundation.

Sally’s K–12 outreach activities include teaching special programs on plant biology to elementary school classes and production of “Roots of Discovery,” a 30-minute science education video. Her most extensive outreach effort has been development of a week-long summer science camp on plant biology for 4th through 8th graders. The camp, “Magical Life in the Muggle World,” used the popular Harry Potter series to engage children’s interest in the subject of “herbology.”

Sally is looking forward to working with the president, Rob McClung, and immediate past president, Rick Amasino, to further the aims of ASPB. While the scientific status of the Society is outstanding and its financial status solid, there are still challenges and opportunities to be met:

1. One of the most important contributions that ASPB makes to the international community of plant biologists is the publication of two premier journals, Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell. The Society will continue to face financial and philosophical issues associated with open access publishing.
2. ASPB members appreciate the value and importance of research on plants for human and planetary health. This knowledge must be effectively communicated to our representatives on Capitol Hill so that they understand the need for federal support of plant research, which inevitably competes with many other research communities for support.
3. ASPB must continue to support innovative K–12 and public outreach initiatives. Research in plant biology is highly relevant to a number of “in the news” topics, including biofuels and global warming. Such issues provide plant biologists with ready opportunities to engage and educate non-scientists.
4. Finally, the Society must continue to reach out to our minority, graduate student, and international members, to identify their needs and ensure that they are well served.