Three professors in NC State’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have been named 2021 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest scientific society and writer of the journal Science.
Marc Cubeta, Candace Haigler and Shuijin Hu are among the many 564 scientists, engineers and innovators acknowledged as AAAS Fellows for his or her “scientifically and socially distinguished achievements.” Eight NC State college members had been elected this yr.
“AAAS is proud to honor these individuals who represent the kind of forward thinking the scientific enterprise needs, while also inspiring hope for what can be achieved in the future,” Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief govt officer and govt writer of the Science household of journals, mentioned in a press launch.
Cubeta, a professor and fungal biologist within the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology and affiliate director of the Center for Integrated Fungal Research, was acknowledged for his “distinguished contributions at the intersection of fundamental and translational research in mycology and plant pathology and for improving plant and animal health.”
“I was very honored and humbled to receive this award, which would have not been possible without the collaborative contributions, dedicated work, and enthusiasm of my students, post-docs and colleagues,” mentioned Cubeta. “I am extremely thankful for being included in the group of outstanding scientists elected for this year and to those that preceded me as I was very fortunate to be the benefactor of excellent mentoring during my career.”
Cubeta’s analysis is concentrated on understanding the ecology and inhabitants biology of helpful and disease-causing fungi of crops. He not too long ago expanded his analysis to analyze plant and soil related fungi that trigger equine fungal keratitis illness and a horse blindness illness within the southeastern United States. Cubeta’s analysis gives elementary information to raised establish fungi and develop novel and improved approaches for managing illnesses of animals and crops that promote helpful microbe exercise.
Haigler, a professor of crop science and plant biology who’s collectively appointed within the Departments of Crop and Soil Sciences and Plant and Microbial Biology, was acknowledged for her “distinguished research contributions to the fields of cellulose and cotton fiber biology and for broad service to the profession.”

“My award recognized my research and broad service to the field, including teaching undergraduate and graduate students, mentoring students and postdoctoral research associates, and carrying out service internal and external to the university,” mentioned Haigler. “I appreciate being recognized in the context of a well-rounded career that gave me the opportunity to work with so many talented students and collaborators on subjects that inspire me as a scientist and have practical implications for our world.”
Haigler’s analysis is concentrated on cellulose synthesis and cotton fiber growth. Her findings are relevant to the manufacturing of next-generation value-added fiber and biomass crops by means of genetic engineering or marker-assisted choice. Since becoming a member of NC State in 2003, she has labored with many gifted collaborators in analysis, corresponding to producing new insights into construction/perform relationships in cellulose synthase as a foundation for rational engineering of plant biomaterials, uncovering novel points of cotton fiber growth and relating them to fiber high quality, and demonstrating the usefulness of virus-induced gene silencing for testing gene perform in cotton.
Hu, a professor of soil ecology within the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology and an adjunct college member within the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, was acknowledged for his “distinguished contributions to the field of microbial ecology, particularly elucidating multiple mechanisms by which microbial-plant interactions influence plant productivity and response to climate change.”

“I feel honored and humbled to be recognized, but more importantly, I feel I owe this to my collaborators, students and postdocs, as well as the support from our administration,” mentioned Hu. “This recognition definitely encourages us to continue our work of climate change research in agroecosystems.”
Hu is researching plant-microbe interactions and their responses to local weather change, specializing in agroecosystems. Some of his present analysis tasks embrace carbon and nitrogen biking, and soil greenhouse fuel emissions in standard and natural farming techniques. Hu not too long ago demonstrated that local weather warming and elevated ozone within the environment alter root traits and the group composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, enhancing soil natural carbon turnover and probably selling soil carbon loss.
The 2021 AAAS fellows had been formally acknowledged within the journal Science in January. A digital induction ceremony is scheduled for Feb. 19, 2022.