Matthew Alcaraz
B.A. Biology - Gonzaga University
Contact: mjalcaraz(at)arizona.edu
I am a Ph.D. student in the School of Plant Science, having joined the Beilstein lab and CROPPS in 2024. In my prior research experiences at Gonzaga University, I investigated membrane stress in bacteria and rDNA repair in human cells. While I had not previously worked with plants prior to joining the Beilstein lab, I became very interested in their evolution and diversity while rotating through. There are at least 300,000 flowering plant species alive today, but currently most molecular biology research is in a handful. Using phylogenetics and the large number of publicly available plant genomes, I can get snapshots of the underlying molecular diversity in plants. One of my favorite parts of my research is when I find a molecule that is absolutely essential in our model organism Arabidopsis thaliana, yet absent in other species. Such discrepancies always make me wonder about what sort of adaptations and environmental pressures might have led to a loss here or a gain there, often leaving me with new hypotheses and ideas to follow up on. In the lab, I have been investigating the evolution and function of receptor-like kinases that control pollen tube growth and systemic responses to nitrogen deficiency. I have also had the opportunity to directly mentor three amazing undergraduate researchers in my time so far in the lab. It has been incredibly rewarding to watch their technical skills and their scientific thinking improve week after week. Outside of the lab, I enjoy playing video games, reading science fiction, tending to my house plants, and spending time with my lovely wife and daughter.
Mentees:
Akmaljon Makhmudov - now a Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee
Alex Tesch - rising Sophomore
Joe Blickfeldt - rising Senior
Awards and fellowships while at the University of Arizona:
Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity Fellowship
Merritt R. Nelson Graduate Scholarship
Dr. John E. Boynton Fellowship for Plant Biology
Contact: mjalcaraz(at)arizona.edu
I am a Ph.D. student in the School of Plant Science, having joined the Beilstein lab and CROPPS in 2024. In my prior research experiences at Gonzaga University, I investigated membrane stress in bacteria and rDNA repair in human cells. While I had not previously worked with plants prior to joining the Beilstein lab, I became very interested in their evolution and diversity while rotating through. There are at least 300,000 flowering plant species alive today, but currently most molecular biology research is in a handful. Using phylogenetics and the large number of publicly available plant genomes, I can get snapshots of the underlying molecular diversity in plants. One of my favorite parts of my research is when I find a molecule that is absolutely essential in our model organism Arabidopsis thaliana, yet absent in other species. Such discrepancies always make me wonder about what sort of adaptations and environmental pressures might have led to a loss here or a gain there, often leaving me with new hypotheses and ideas to follow up on. In the lab, I have been investigating the evolution and function of receptor-like kinases that control pollen tube growth and systemic responses to nitrogen deficiency. I have also had the opportunity to directly mentor three amazing undergraduate researchers in my time so far in the lab. It has been incredibly rewarding to watch their technical skills and their scientific thinking improve week after week. Outside of the lab, I enjoy playing video games, reading science fiction, tending to my house plants, and spending time with my lovely wife and daughter.
Mentees:
Akmaljon Makhmudov - now a Ph.D. student at the University of Tennessee
Alex Tesch - rising Sophomore
Joe Blickfeldt - rising Senior
Awards and fellowships while at the University of Arizona:
Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity Fellowship
Merritt R. Nelson Graduate Scholarship
Dr. John E. Boynton Fellowship for Plant Biology
