Planting Science - Members: View: Laura Klein

Laura Klein

Profile

Profile

Time Zone

Pacific
Organization

LeafWorks Inc.
Role

Scientist Mentor: I will mentor teams of students online
Research Interests (300 words)

I am a botanist interested in the relationship between plants and humanity, as well as the impact of hybridization and introgression on plant evolution. I synthesized these two interests with my dissertation by studying patterns of gene flow in wild North American grapevines, several of which have been used in the wine industry for grafting purposes (the practice of fusing one plant to another). As a postdoc, I was part of a team of researchers exploring how rootstock (bottom part of the graft) diversity affects the scions (top part of the graft) of cultivated grapevines. Currently, I am the Head Curator and Director of Herbal Research for LeafWorks, a botanical identification company. I maintain collections that serve as vouchers to validate plant samples from our customers. I have extensive research experience in fieldwork, digital leaf morphometric analysis, and genomic analysis.
Profile Question 1

When and why did you decide to go into a science career?
Answer the question you selected for profile question 1 here (300 words):

I decided to become a scientist during my junior year of college after a research opportunity at the Missouri Botanical Garden. It was then that I realized scientists don't need to be quirky geniuses - they can be anyone who is eternally curious and hard-working. In particular, I chose botany for the opportunity to get outside and do fieldwork every year as part of my job. I also love working with people and enjoy the chance to teach and work with students.
Profile Question 2

What was the first science experiment you ever designed? How did it turn out?
Answer the question you selected for profile question 2 here (300 words):

In high school I was never particularly passionate about science. I was never in advanced science classes. But I always liked biology and have been curious about anything and everything since I was born. My sophomore biology teacher could tell and worked with me to develop an experiment to see how manduca hornworm pupae emerge from their cocoons, as this was unknown at the time. I built a thin plexiglass cage with screening around the edges, grew the worms until they were ready for metamorphosis, and waited to see what happened. I never saw them burrowing underground or emerging from their cocoons, and the plexiglass cage was still too wide to see where they had burrowed in the ground, but now we know that they don't just form a cocoon the surface of the ground or hang from somewhere; they go subterranean. I had a true, valuable research experience: it's long hours of taking care of insects or making measurements, and you may not see or capture exactly what you want, but you will get results in the end.
Profile Question 3

Can you share a funny/interesting lab or field story?
Answer the question you selected for profile question 3 here (300 words):

I was collecting wild grapevines in Texas. We were driving around trying to find location coordinates for some plants, only to discover they were inside someone's private ranch land. We were parked in front of the gate and were trying to decide what to do when a Texas Ranger pulled up, asking what we were up to. One thing led to another and he drove us across a river in his truck, with us crammed in the front seat next to his shut gun and police radio, driving down dirt roads looking for wild grapes. Turns out he spent time as a cattle rancher and was familiar with what wild grapes looked like in the area. We found several grapes with his help.
Capacity: How many teams at a time are you comfortable working with?

2

Laura Klein

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