Fellowship Honors E&H Biology Professor's Research

An Emory & Henry College biology professor has been honored by the Appalachian College Association for research she is conducting in plant molecular genetics.

Dr. Christine Fleet has been awarded a post-doctoral Appalachian College Association (A.C.A) faculty fellowship for the amount of $6,000.

Fleet will use the fellowship to continue her research on plant molecular genetics as they relate to physiology and development. Fleet is exploring the question of which genes and hormones make plants grow the way they do and respond to the environment the way they do, and what mechanisms regulate those genes and hormones. Much of her work focuses on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana to study regulation of the hormone gibberellin.

Much of her work involves basic Mendelian cross-pollination experiments, studies of plant development, microscopy, and molecular biology, and makes use of campus technology including a semi-automated DNA sequencer, quantitative PCR, and an epifluorescence-equipped microscope. To this point, much of her research has included student participation.

The fellowship will allow Fleet to travel to a research facility at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan where she will have access to equipment and professional knowledge that will better allow her to separate active hormone compounds.

“This grant will allow me to directly answer one critical question, and that is do the things we see really have an effect on the amount of hormones produced,” said Fleet.

The Appalachian College Association's Faculty Fellowship Program is the longest running program of the ACA. The Fellowship Endowment is supported by foundations (notably the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the McCune Foundation and others), member schools, and individual contributions.

Fellowships are awarded annually and policy requires that at least 75 percent of fellowship funds be given to faculty in the arts and sciences, as defined by the Carnegie Foundation. The fellowships range in value from $3,000 to $30,000 for pre- or post-doctoral study. Fellowships are awarded for a short term (generally summer, maximum $6,000), one semester (maximum $15,000), or an academic year (maximum $30,000).