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Allison Miller

@ajmiller4233.bsky.social

Perennial plant diversity, evolution, agriculture, conservation. Danforth Plant Science Center, Saint Louis University, MO Botanical Garden. She/her.

12 Posts817 Follower129 Folgt
Allison Miller@ajmiller4233.bsky.social · 11mo ago

We had the honor of hosting Cary Fowler at the Danforth Center in St. Louis this week! It was a standing room only crowd for a sobering but inspiring conversation about global food security. You can read more about it here www.stlmag.com/news/cary-fo... . Thank you to host @sarahfenske.bsky.social!

Cary Fowler warns of headwinds for global food security—but sees solutions in St. Louis  | St. Louis Magazine

Cary Fowler has been compared to the Biblical figure Noah, and he admits the analogy makes sense. The Memphis native is known as the father of the so-called

stlmag.com

St. Louis Post-Dispatch@stltoday.com · last yr.

And here’s how to help, or find help, after St. Louis tornado (free article) www.stltoday.com/news/local/m...

Here’s how to help, or find help, after St. Louis tornado

Volunteers are needed after a tornado hit the St. Louis area.

stltoday.com

St. Louis Post-Dispatch@stltoday.com · last yr.

St. Louis cleans up after Friday's tornado. Read the Post-Dispatch coverage: https://www.stltoday.com/search/?sd=desc&s=start_time&f=html&t=article,collection,video&app=editorial&nsa=eedition&k=may16tornado&utm_medium=social&utm_source=bluesky_  Photos: Laurie Skrivan

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Stacey D. Smith@iochromaland.bsky.social · last yr.

On Friday, my son stayed home from school because he had a sore throat and wasn’t feeling well. He went with my husband to his office for the morning while I handled our daughter. When he came back at lunch, he was not interested in eating, saying his throat hurt too much. 1/n

Dan Garisto@dangaristo.bsky.social · last yr.

In light of the skinny budget (55.8% reduction), 6 past NSF directors and 7 NSB chairs have sent the House Committee on Appropriations a letter advising doubling the NSF budget. "We face a fork in the road. Do we want to win or concede the race for new knowledge and a competitive STEM workforce?"

Key paragraph of letter: We believe these challenges can be met, but not with the draconian budget plan and staffing reductions just released by OMB. Such a budget would thwart scientific progress, decimate the research workforce, and take a decade or more to recover. Achieving the President’s vision requires a major enhancement of the NSF budget, ideally a doubling of the FY25 level over the next few years and sufficient staff to execute this vision. In the current political climate, we know this is a bold request. We make it, nonetheless, to say -- if we truly wish to realize this vision, we must commit to a historic investment in fundamental research and education in a manner that leaves no doubt about the United States’ intentions with our international competitors. We face a fork in the road. Do we want to win or concede the race for new knowledge and a competitive STEM workforce? For 75 years winning that race has been the foundation of American prosperity and national security. Adopting the proposed cuts would fast-track China’s plans for technological dominance. As Senator Todd Young said in his March 25th Washington Post op-ed, “…Our policymakers should lock arms with the science-and-technology dreamers and doers across the country — from Silicon Valley to the Silicon Prairie — and recognize that basic research isn’t a federal handout to help sustain academia. Instead, it is a vital ingredient in our innovation future, economic and geopolitical competitiveness, and national security.” signatures of past NSF directors and NSB chairs
Savanna Institute@savannainstitute.bsky.social · last yr.

“I don’t think this plant is a lost cause,” said Lily Hislop @currantlylily.bsky.social, who runs the only institutionally backed #blackcurrant breeding program in the West at the Savanna Institute. #Blackcurrants showing up in Ambrook Research! ambrook.com/research/cro... @jessehirsch.bsky.social

A Taste of the Forbidden Fruit - Ambrook Research

Banned by the federal government a century ago, black currants were cast to the fringes of U.S. agriculture. Agroforestry advocates and berry connoisseurs are urging a revival.

ambrook.com

Allison Miller@ajmiller4233.bsky.social · last yr.

Went on my first baby run yesterday after two surgeries to deal with a torn meniscus last year. It was sooooooooooooo nice to be back out there! I even caught a glimpse of my very favorite heron - the little blue heron. 🐦

Bild
Jason P. Londo@shiversherlock.bsky.social · last yr.

It’s scary to be excited these days but I’m proud of our collaborative team and this new project to understand grafting and environmental variation effects on grapevine rootstock and scion epigenomics in vineyards across the Eastern US. @ajmiller4233.bsky.social news.cornell.edu/stories/2025...

Uncovering ‘terroir’: Project to explore plant-environment interactions | Cornell Chronicle

A Cornell grape geneticist is leading a $2.3 million multi-institutional project to understand how genetically identical grapevines are influenced by varying environmental conditions in three states.

news.cornell.edu

Allison Miller@ajmiller4233.bsky.social · last yr.

Join me in supporting the Botanical Society of America today - on International Plant Appreciation Day!

Botanical Society of America@botsocamerica.bsky.social · last yr.

🌱It's International Plant Appreciation Day!🌿 Support the plants & community that inspire you. Please consider making an unrestricted gift—it provides flexible support, ensuring resources go where they’re needed most: crm.botany.org/makeadonation Share your plant story! #LetsGoPlants #IamaBotanist

This image shows 8 BSA members near or holding plants and smiling. Text: “International Plant Appreciation Day, April 13, 2025. Support BSA with an Unrestricted Gift Today!” The image also includes the BSA logo.
José Dinneny@josedinneny.bsky.social · last yr.

“the N.P.G.S. budget is shoestring and its staffing minimal…And yet, with a trivial investment of 0.000008 percent of the federal budget, N.P.G.S. scientists quietly enable and safeguard our food system, worth around $1.5 trillion. Talk about return on investment.” www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/o...

Opinion | Why Did Elon Musk Go After Bunkers Full of Seeds?

Gene banks are like a survivalist cache: our nation’s safeguard against all future challenges to growing the food we need.

nytimes.com

Allison Miller@ajmiller4233.bsky.social · last yr.

This week I am attending the “Pathways to Perennjal Future” International meeting at CIMMYT near Mexico City. Learn more about why I think perennial grains have a role to play in the future of agriculture in myTEDx St. Louis talk.

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center@danforthcenter.bsky.social · last yr.

In her TEDx Talk, @ajmiller4233.bsky.social shares her dream: harnessing the power of perennials to create a more sustainable future for food. Tune in here to see why she believes this dream is within reach—and how you can be a part of it: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XOLG...

Maddy Seale@maddyseale.bsky.social · last yr.

Plant genomics in @science.org this week: Sequencing manioc/cassava genomes shows few geographic genetic signatures and instead Indigenous farming practices have driven dispersal of this clonally propagated crop www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Historic manioc genomes illuminate maintenance of diversity under long-lived clonal cultivation

Manioc—also called cassava and yuca—is among the world’s most important crops, originating in South America in the early Holocene. Domestication for its starchy roots involved a near-total shift from ...

science.org

Donald Danforth Plant Science Center@danforthcenter.bsky.social · last yr.

Every February, @kcox-bioguy.bsky.social puts together a list honoring one Black plant scientist for each day of #BlackHistoryMonth. Read his full article via @plantaeofficial.bsky.social and meet all 28 scientists: loom.ly/AMg1m_4

2025 Black History Month: Black Plant Scientists Spotlight | Plantae

An initiative originated by Kevin Cox Jr., PhD, Plantae carries on Kevin’s tremendous effort of bringing visibility to several exceptional scientists and their work across the science community.

loom.ly