Julia Frugoli, PhD

Seminar Title: "Systemic signals from roots to shoots and back again: the complexity of plant communication"

Alumni Distinguished Professor of Genetics Dr. Julia Frugoli received her BS in both Biology and Chemistry at Gordon College, then worked as a research chemist at the US Army Natick Research Development and Engineering Center on biomimetic materials for several years before pursuing a PhD in Biological Science at Dartmouth College. Working with C. Robertson McClung on the catalase gene family in Arabidopsis for her doctorate, part of the work was done as a visiting graduate student in the lab of Terry Thomas at Texas A&M.  She went on to postdoctoral research at Texas A&M with Douglas Cook, investigating nodulation genes in Medicago truncatula and joined Clemson University as assistant professor in 2000.  Her research focuses on signal transduction in plants: the autoregulation of nodulation in legumes. With over 50 peer-reviewed publications and close to $10 million in grant funding over her career, her lab has trained multiple graduate students and visiting scholars. A graduate of the inaugural cohort of the President’s Leadership Institute, she’s served in several part-time administrative positions including chair of the Graduate Council, Provost Fellow, Associate Chair of the Department of Genetics & Biochemistry, and Associate Dean for Inclusive Excellence and Graduate Education in the College of Science, as well as on more academic search committees than she can count.