- Ph.D. 2007, University of Missouri – St. Louis
BIO
Jill Preston is a Plant Biologist that specializes in uncovering developmental and genetic mechanisms underlying evolution of plant form and function. She is particularly interested in the evolution of reproductive structures, but often finds this work segues into the study of other developmental traits that are also affected by abiotic stress. Although Jill’s work is now primarily on grasses, she has studied a range of plant taxa over her career. More details can be found on her or at .
Jill received her BSc degree from Napier Edinburgh University, followed by an MSc degree from the University of Nottingham, and a PhD degree from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. She then went on to do a postdoc at the University of Kansas. Since starting as a professor at ¶¶Òõ̽̽ in 2012, Jill has received two National Science Foundation awards to determine the evolutionary history and developmental genetic basis of grass flowering time in response to low and high temperatures, respectively. She has also been coPI on two grants funded by the Research Council of Norway in a long-term collaboration with at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. The most recent of these projects is on the evolution of annual life history traits in grasses derived from perennial ancestors. She also has a Community Science Program award from the Joint Genome Institute to develop genomic resources for the temperate grass subfamily Pooideae.
In addition to research, Jill is committed to excellence in inclusive teaching and training. She currently teaches a large enrollment introductory genetics class and spring semester upper level undergraduate classes in evolution, development, and/or genetics. She regularly trains undergraduate & graduate student researchers and postdocs in her lab, and is Codirector for an interdisciplinary Biological Data Science (BilDS) graduate student training program. Beyond the university, Jill has served as a monitoring editor for journals such as Plant Physiology, and is on the Brachypodium steering committee associated with the International Brachypodium Conference ().
Courses
BCOR 2300 Genetics
PBIO 3880 Evolution of Development
PBIO 2995 Undergraduate Research
PBIO 3995 Undergraduate Research
PBIO 7491 Doctoral Dissertation Research
Area(s) of expertise
Evolutionary genetics of plant development
Bio
Jill Preston is a Plant Biologist that specializes in uncovering developmental and genetic mechanisms underlying evolution of plant form and function. She is particularly interested in the evolution of reproductive structures, but often finds this work segues into the study of other developmental traits that are also affected by abiotic stress. Although Jill’s work is now primarily on grasses, she has studied a range of plant taxa over her career. More details can be found on her or at .
Jill received her BSc degree from Napier Edinburgh University, followed by an MSc degree from the University of Nottingham, and a PhD degree from the University of Missouri – St. Louis. She then went on to do a postdoc at the University of Kansas. Since starting as a professor at ¶¶Òõ̽̽ in 2012, Jill has received two National Science Foundation awards to determine the evolutionary history and developmental genetic basis of grass flowering time in response to low and high temperatures, respectively. She has also been coPI on two grants funded by the Research Council of Norway in a long-term collaboration with at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. The most recent of these projects is on the evolution of annual life history traits in grasses derived from perennial ancestors. She also has a Community Science Program award from the Joint Genome Institute to develop genomic resources for the temperate grass subfamily Pooideae.
In addition to research, Jill is committed to excellence in inclusive teaching and training. She currently teaches a large enrollment introductory genetics class and spring semester upper level undergraduate classes in evolution, development, and/or genetics. She regularly trains undergraduate & graduate student researchers and postdocs in her lab, and is Codirector for an interdisciplinary Biological Data Science (BilDS) graduate student training program. Beyond the university, Jill has served as a monitoring editor for journals such as Plant Physiology, and is on the Brachypodium steering committee associated with the International Brachypodium Conference ().
Courses
BCOR 2300 Genetics
PBIO 3880 Evolution of Development
PBIO 2995 Undergraduate Research
PBIO 3995 Undergraduate Research
PBIO 7491 Doctoral Dissertation Research
Areas of Expertise
Evolutionary genetics of plant development