David Weston, of ORNL's Biosciences Division, has received an Early Career Research Program Award from the Department of Energy's Office of Science.
Dr. Weston submission "Determining the genetic and environmental factors underlying mutualism within a plant-microbiome system driving nutrient acquisition and exchange" will be funded for the next five years. He will identify the genes and metabolic functions involved in the exchange of nutrients between certain plants and microbes and study their response to environmental changes in both laboratory and field settings. Deeper fundamental understanding of the symbiotic plant-microbe relationship could reveal pathways to improve bioenergy crop production in nutrient-limiting environments.
The Early Career Research Program, now in its eighth year, supports the development of individual research programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers and stimulates research careers in the disciplines supported by the DOE Office of Science. The 59 selectees for fiscal year 2017 were chosen based on peer review of about 700 proposals.