Arif Ashraf
@aribidopsis
Assistant professor at the University of British Columbia. My lab works on plant cell biology. Lab website:
The latest episode of #No_Time_To_Read podcast! It was a wonderful conversation with @backinbrach.bsky.social Greg about his recent @currentbiology.bsky.social paper. Podcast: open.spotify.com/episode/7Jlm... Article: www.cell.com/current-biol...
We waited 1.5 years to write the grant, get the money, buy the confocal, and get it! This week, we have installed the confocal in the lab. Thanks to @the.3i.social and their amazing team, including Sam, Andrew, Daniel, and Leo to make it happen. We are grateful to CFI and UBC for the funding.
🍀🔬 Unconventional vesicle transport driven by formin-actin-myosin working system during pollen germination; published in Science Advances www.science.org/doi/full/10....
🍀🔬 Control of plant organ growth linked to cell division orientation in inner tissues @currentbiology.bsky.social www.cell.com/current-biol...
🍀🔬 Force-responsive symmetric cell divisions orient stomata along global tissue axes @pnas.org from Andrew Muroyama's lab. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Latest episode of #No_Time_To_Read podcast! It was a wonderful discussion with @kirkamundson.bsky.social Kirk about his recent @science.org article. Podcast: open.spotify.com/episode/2JVy... Article: www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1...
It's an immense joy to have Scottie with us this summer. Scottie is pro-active in reading papers (& discussing/arguing with me), doing experiments, analyzing data, making figures, & taking care of lab business. They just finished making the very first scientific figure independently. Sharing soon!
🌾🔬 Excited to see Greg's paper online! Congratulations to Greg, Bahman, Josh, & other Hazen lab members. Temperature signals drive grass secondary cell wall thickening @currentbiology.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Latest episode of #No_Time_To_Read podcast! I had a fantastic conversation with @penlindsay.bsky.social Penelope about her recently published paper @newphyt.bsky.social (also made it to the cover). Podcast: open.spotify.com/episode/34XW... Article: nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...
Good news to share! My graduate student, @kamdiehl.bsky.social Kamryn, received Frances Chave Memorial Graduate Scholarship! Congratulations, Kamryn 🍀🔬🎉👏😊 Many more awards & fellowships are waiting for you in coming days. Fly High & Far!
🌾🌽🔬 My graduate student, @juliazheku.bsky.social Julia, is at the annual meeting of Canadian Society of Agronomy this week at University of Guelph. She is giving a talk today. If you are attending, go and find her. agronomycanada.com/next-annual-...
We are falling behind in celebrating. We had several birthdays (Julia, Kamryn, & Scottie), paper acceptance, journal cover, accepted talks, successful workshop, & manuscripts submission (also rejections) in last month We went out last Friday for Japanese food & ice cream. Thanks everyone in the lab
🔬🍀☺️ The first cover image from the lab! Yay! Jessica's image on nuclear movement in polarized root hair cell. Thanks to Julian, Tomo, & @cytoskeljournal.bsky.social for the opportunity to contribute as a guest editor for plant cytoskeleton issue. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/19493592...
Development publishes top-quality articles and provides classroom materials and textbook-level knowledge over years. There is an overall decline in using classic model organisms. A 2025 stat about decline in NIH R01 funding for yeast, C. elegans and Drosophila. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Picture from the greenhouse today Here I am testing my height against the tallest corn 🌽 plants in the greenhouse!
Genomic diversity and the domestication history of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) @pnas.org from Jonathan Wendel's lab. www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/... In picture: Wild (left) and domesticated cotton (right). Credit: Corrinne Grover/Iowa State University.
🍀🔬 The microtubule-associated protein RIC1 forms biomolecular condensates to promote the polymerization of microtubule bundles in vitro; published in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🍀🔬 The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor KIP-RELATED PROTEIN 6 promotes stem cell death upon DNA damage in Arabidopsis roots @theplantjournal.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
🔬🔬🔬 Mitochondria directly interact with the nuclear pore complex @nature.com www.nature.com/articles/s41...
🌽🔬 The ZmHEAT1/ZmKAKU42-ZmNCH1 module regulates heat stress tolerance by modulating nuclear envelope structure in maize @cp-cellreports.bsky.social www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
🍀📽️ Fast cell wall softening causes Venus flytrap closure @science.org www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Recently, I had to write about "outputs" and "outcomes" for a proposal. It kept me thinking a lot. She summarized it very precisely.
My undergrad (soon to start the grad program with us), Joh's image has been selected and published as a Picture of the Month @cytoskeljournal.bsky.social Congratulations, Joh 🍀🔬🎉 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🍀🔬 Visualisation and Prediction of Phosphate Deficiency via Auto-Glowing Plant Bioluminescent Sensors @ Plant, Cell & Environment onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
🔬🍀 My undergrad Joh's chromatin dynamics manuscript is published at JoVE now! Congratulations, Joh 🎉👏🔬🍀😊 Quantitative Live Cell Imaging of Nuclear Shape and Chromatin Dynamics During Development and Environmental Stress in Arabidopsis thaliana Root www.jove.com/t/71307/quan...
We had a busy and productive week running our very first week-long Quantitative Microscopy Workshop. Thanks to 13 participants from 7 labs, and my students (Julia, Kamryn, & Joh) for leading sessions along with me. Looking forward to the summer 2027 🔬🔬🔬
🍀🔬 I absolutely enjoyed reading this paper! Excellent quantitative cell biology. Two-step, long-distance nuclear migration guided by distinct actin networks prior to plant root hair formation @pnasnexus.org academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/ar...
🔬🌽🎉 My graduate student, @juliazheku.bsky.social Julia's image has been published as a Picture of the Month in @cytoskeljournal.bsky.social recently. Congratulations, Julia 👏🎉🔬 onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... Image: Maize root cross section stained with triple cell wall staining dyes.