Join the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station community at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept .25, for a talk on how plant leaves shape their external environments.

 

The presenter for the fall 2024 Dessert with Discussion talk is Dr. Kadeem Gilbert, an assistant professor in the Michigan State University’s Department of Plant Biology and resident faculty member at Kellogg Biological Station. Gilbert also is affiliated with MSU’s Plant Resilience Institute as well as its Ecology, Evolution & Behavior Program.

 

In his talk, Dr. Gilbert will share:

  • A look at special adaptations in carnivorous plant leaves
  • His research on how leaves in general shape their external environments
  • How he studies organisms that live on or inside of leaves, and how they are influenced by the plant

 

The talk, titled “Extraordinary Leaves,” will be offered in-person in the KBS Academic Building's auditorium, located at 3700 East Gull Lake Drive, and also will be streamed via Zoom. The talk is free and open to the public, and registration is required at bit.ly/kbs-DwD-fall2024. 

 

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and numerous area organizations will have informational booths open. Both in-person and virtual attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions following the talk. Dessert offerings will be available during the talk.

 

Dessert with Discussion is a free lecture series that connects the KBS and MSU research community with our local community. This series is made possible through generous donations to the Dessert with Discussion Fund.

 

Send questions about the event to communityrelations@kbs.msu.edu.

 

About Kadeem Gilbert

Kadeem Gilbert holds a Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University. His doctoral research investigated trait evolution and the ecology of arthropod/microbial interactions in the tropical pitcher plant genus Nepenthes. Prior to joining the faculty at KBS in 2021, he was a USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture postdoctoral fellow at the Pennsylvania State University, where he extended his work to agriculturally-relevant systems by examining the molecular underpinnings of leaf surface pH regulation and its consequences to the phylloplane microbiome in Beta and Gossypium, as well as Nepenthes.

The overarching focus of the Gilbert Lab is studying interactions between plants and other organisms—especially symbiotic ones. Of particular interest is examining the ways in which plants are able to physiologically alter abiotic conditions on their leaf surfaces, and how such environmental regulation may mediate those interactions with symbionts. Another specialty of the lab is the biology of carnivorous plants. To learn more, visit gilbertlab.weebly.com.