Administration
Institute Director
Stephen Howell became the first permanent Director of the Plant Sciences Institute on January 1, 2001.
Howell is an internationally-known researcher in the area of plant molecular biology and development. Most recently he served as Vice President for Research at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, where he was the Boyce Schulze Downey scientist. Prior to that, he was a faculty member in the Biology Department at the University of California San Diego for 19 years. Howell holds a doctoral degree from Johns Hopkins University (1967) and a bachelor's degree from Grinnell College.
Howell has been editor-in-chief of a major research journal, Plant Molecular Biology, and authored the book, "The Molecular Genetics of Plant Development," published by Cambridge University Press. He has more than 100 research publications and has pioneered several developments in the field of plant biotechnology. In 1980, Howell and coworkers introduced the first biologically active recombinant DNA into plants - the cloned genome of a plant DNA virus called CaMV. Later, his research group discovered the CaMV 35S promoter, which has been used since to drive gene expression in bioengineered plants. In 1986, Howell led a team to introduce the firefly luciferase gene into plants. This created a spectacular image of a "glowing plant," although the intention of the research was to provide researchers with a visible marker of gene expression. His current research involves the understanding of the complex gene expression program that underlies shoot development in plants.
Institute Associate Director
Patrick S. Schnable was appointed associate director of the Plant Sciences Institute 1 July 2005.
Professor Schnable, a member of the ISU faculty since 1988, has been active in the Plant Sciences Institute since its establishment in 1999 and was a co-author of the 1997 report that stimulated the creation of the institute. Within the PSI Schnable also serves as the founding director of the Center for Plant Genomics.
Schnable is an internationally renowned maize geneticist who manages a large, highly collaborative research team. His expertise is in the areas of genetics, molecular biology and genomics, but he collaborates with researchers in diverse fields, including bioinformatics and computer science. Schnable has consistently been an "early adopter" of new technologies. This led him to spearhead efforts to establish the ISU Plant Transformation and Microarray facilities. More recently, his team developed methods to examine global patterns of gene expression in individual types of plant cells and a new high-throughput genetic mapping technology.
His group has made significant advances in several fields of biology including cytoplasmic male sterility, meiotic recombination and the biosynthesis of cuticular waxes. More recently, his team built a high-density genetic map of maize transcripts that is playing a key role in the maize genome sequencing project. In collaboration with professors Srinivas Aluru (Computer Engineering) and Dan Ashlock (Mathematics), his team released an assembly of the maize genome that has become an important community resource. Schnable is an active participant in several interdisciplinary graduate training programs and currently serves as the chair of the Interdepartmental Genetics program. In addition, several dozen undergraduates gain research experience in his laboratory each year.
Dr. Schnable received his BS from Cornell University and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University. He previously served as the chair of the maize genetics executive committee and as a member of a Committee of Visitors at the National Science Foundation. He currently serves on the scientific advisory boards of several major NSF Plant Genome projects and is an elected member of the steering group of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (Section on Agriculture, Food and Renewable Resources).
Institute Business Manager
Deanne Brill has been Business Manager of the Plant Sciences Institute since February 2000, when she was hired to set up its first administrative home in the Office and Laboratory Building. Deanne manages the financial and administrative operations of the Institute, as well as coordinates PSI communications such as newsletters, annual reports, and the web site.
Previously at Iowa State, Deanne was an administrative specialist in the Budget and Finance Office in the College of Agriculture for three years and the Department of Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology for over four years.
Prior work experience includes seven years in the Provost Office at Drake University, and stints at radio stations in Ames, IA and Madison, WI. Deanne has a B.A. in English from Drake University and an M.S. in Industrial Relations from Iowa State.
