2026 Symposium
PBHS Fellows, as well as postdocs & grad students from the MSU plant science community, are invited to join us for the 2026 PBHS Symposium!
This event, held semi-annually, offers a unique opportunity for students to explore professional development through panels, workshops, and networking opportunities — all focused on helping you leverage your scientific training into an impactful career; one that supports not only you, but a better world.
When: Wednesday, October 7 – Friday, October 9, 2026
Where: MSU Union Ballroom
We're excited to host a group of panelists from across industries to discuss the benefits
of — and pathways to — careers in plant science, biotechnology, policy, and more.
More details, including a schedule & registration form, will be posted here in the
future.
Check back later this Summer for more information!
Speakers
Melissa Ho is an expert in food systems transformations, freshwater resilience and
climate solutions and the founder of Beeyuan Strategies: a Washngton, D.C. based consultancy
focused on driving sustainable solutions. Melissa has previously worked as a consultant
for the International rice Research Institute and as the Senior Vice President of
Freshwater & Food for the World Wildlife Fund. She received her PhD from Penn State
University.
Learn more about Melissa on LinkedIn.
Mary Williams is the features editor for the American Society of Plant Biologists,
and has served as the community manager for Plantae.org. Williams earned her PhD in
Plant Molecular Biology from Rockefeller Univeristy and taught for 14 years at Harvey
Mudd College before taking a leap: she stepped out of the classroom to build a community
of plant science educators dedicated to effective teaching.
Learn more about mary on her blog.
Kerry Rouhier is an Associate Professor of Chemiostry at Kenyon College in Gambier,
OH. Her research focuses on branched-chain amino acid metabolism, and its role in
plant growth & development. Her lab leverages biochemistry and a cavalcade of techniques
— including mass spectrometry, gas chromatography, and nuclear magnetic spectroscopy
— to study proteins and their reactions. She received her PhD from Miami University
in Oxford, OH.
Learn more about Kerry at kenyon.edu.
Jeongwoon Kim is a returning PBHS speaker and serves as the Head of Connected Pipeline
Sytems at Bayer, where she helps lead a cutting-edge innovation pipeline to advance seeds, traits, crop protection, biological products,
and digital solutions. She received her PhD in Plant Biology from Michigan State University. Jeongwoon
has worked as a computational biologist in the labs of Dr. Rob Last, Dr. Robin Buell,
and for Monsanto before joining Bayer in 2018.
Connect with Jeongwoon on LinkedIn.
Shin-Han Shiu is a Red Cedar Distinguished Professor of Plant Biology and Computational
Math, Science & Engineering at Michigan State University. He is currently a Program
Officer at the National Science Foundation. Shiu's research focuses on leveraging
computational resources to expedite discovery& predictive biology in plant science,
particularly in how genomic information is transcribed and decoded into traits.
Learn more about Shin-Han on his lab website.
Bonnie brings over 15 years of experience in biotechnology & the plant sciences to her role at Fulcrum Global Capital. Before joining Fulcrum, where she is now a Senior Venture Associate, she worked with Corteva Agriscience and DuPont in haploid breeding research, as well as various research & development roles — leading, at times, change management and strategy operations, external collaborations, risk management, and commercial acquisitions.
Bonnie Hold dual MS degrees in Plant Biology (UC Berkeley) and Technology Leadership (Brown University).
Chris Dardick is the Lead Scientist and Plant Molecular Biologist at the United States
Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Appalachian Fruit
Research Station in West Virginia. He recveived his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology
from The University of Maryland, College Park.
Chris specializes in the genetic improvement of fruit crops using advanced genomics
and breeding technologies.
Learn more about Chris on the USDA-ARS website.
Keith Wood is the CEO of LightBio, Inc., a direct-to-consumer biotechnology company
that specializes in selling the first biolumiescent houseplants — "firefly petunias"
— directly to consumers.
Prior to joining Light Bio, Keith held increasingly senior roles in Research & Development
at Promega Corporation across 29 years.
He received his PhD in Chemistry from UC San Diego.
Nate leads the Corteva Precision Phenotyping team, where he oversees a diverse group
of scientists, project managers, and post-doctoral researchers. His team is dedicated
to developing and deploying Precision Phenotyping solutions, including drones, robots,
satellites, and proximal sensors. Nate has spearheaded transformational changes in
phenotyping at Corteva, significantly enhancing the adoption, scale, automation, and
precision of key phenotyping traits within the company's breeding programs.
Learn more about Nate in this profile from the North American Phenotyping Network.