Meet the Authors: Exploring Insights on Research Methods for Plants in Space

Welcome to “Meet the Authors”! This series is intended to promote direct engagement between researchers and a broad public ranging from students, early career scientists, academics, industry professionals, and more.  In this virtual interview panel session, three authors will present their publications, answer moderator questions, and address questions from the audience.

This virtual session took place on April 24, 2025 from 9 – 10am PT, and featured Dr Borja Barbero Barcinella of Texas A&M University, Dr Richard Barker of Purdue University, and Dr John Z Kiss of Florida Institute of Technology, speaking on the four following publications:

• Arabidopsis telomerase takes off by uncoupling enzyme activity from telomere length maintenance in space
• Transcriptional response of Arabidopsis thaliana’s root-tip to spaceflight
• Meta-analysis of the space flight and microgravity response of the Arabidopsis plant transcriptome
• Efficacy of the Random Positioning Machine as a Terrestrial Analogue to Microgravity in Studies of Seedling Phototropism

“Meet the Authors” offered a unique opportunity for audience members to be an active participant in the interviews and to ask questions directly to research leaders. The session questions ranged from commentary on the necessity for analogue experimentation validated by flight studies, standardization of hardware protocols, and perspectives on the future of plant studies.

This session was filled with curious energy and ideas, and left plenty room for future research as the authors, moderator, and attendees addressed the nature of Open Science, the Analysis Working Group (AWG) communities, and more. The recording is now available below!

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