Dr VARSHA PATHARE
Cornell University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Carl R Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, Washington State University
Research areas: Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Plant Science · Plant Water Relations and Carbon Dynamics · Plant responses to elevated CO2 · Photosynthetic Processes and Mechanisms
0000-0001-6220-7531
About
Being the daughter of a dry-land farmer, I have grown up observing and discussing the plant-climate interactions and their impacts on our lives and our ecosystems. My desire to contribute to the fight against climate change has been the motivation behind my career in plant sciences.
So broadly, I am a plant eco-physiologist interested in advancing our understanding about plant-climate interactions and generating new knowledge about how and why diverse plant species and ecosystems vary in their sensitivities to changing climate and environmental stress. Central to my work is the integration of traits and processes associated with CO2-uptake, storage, and water-use across scales of space, time, and biological organization (cellular > leaf > whole plant > ecosystem). I work on diverse plant species (both C3 and C4) from natural and managed ecosystems. I conduct observational, manipulative, and modeling experiments under field and climate-controlled conditions by using a variety of techniques from the fields of plant ecophysiology, stable isotope ecology and biochemistry. I am passionate about basic and applied research, as well as inclusive teaching, mentoring, and service.
Employment
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Cornell University Assistant Professor2025 - Present
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Carl R Woese Institute for Genomic Biology IGB Postdoctoral Fellow2023 - 2025
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Washington State University Post-doctoral researcher2018 - 2022
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Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Research Fellow2010 - 2014
Education
Education history is unavailable.
Projects & Funding
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Assessing the impacts of stomatal trait modification on cellular, leaf and whole plant water-use in legumes Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology2023 - 2025
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Digging Deeper F2 Fellow: exploring effect of online student teacher scientist partnership program on student learning Planting Science
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American Society of Plant Biologists travel grant American Society of Plant Biologists
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Western Photosynthesis Congress Travel grant Western Photosynthesis Congress
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Ecological Society of Australia travel grant Ecological Society of Australia
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Discovery Postgraduate Research scholarship Australian Research Council
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International Research Scholarship and President's Scholarship University of Technology Sydney
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Physiological and molecular responses of rice and brassica to heavy metal stress and mycorrhizal colonization Savitribai Phule Pune University
Publications (21)
- Differences in stomatal sensitivity to CO2 and light influence variation in water use efficiency and leaf carbon isotope composition in two genotypes of the C4 plant Zea mays Save
- Carbon-phosphorus cycle models overestimate CO 2 enrichment response in a mature Eucalyptus forest Save
- Microbial competition for phosphorus limits the CO2 response of a mature forest Save
- Altered cell wall hydroxycinnamate composition impacts leaf- and canopy-level CO2 uptake and water use in rice Save
- Biochemical and Structural Diversification of C4 Photosynthesis in Tribe Zoysieae (Poaceae) Save
- How Important Are Functional and Developmental Constraints on Phenotypic Evolution? An Empirical Test with the Stomatal Anatomy of Flowering Plants Save
- One hundred important questions facing plant science: an international perspective Save
- Altered cell wall hydroxycinnamate composition impacts leaf and canopy-level CO2-uptake and water-use in rice Save
- Mesophyll conductance response to shortâterm changes in pCO2 is related to leaf anatomy and biochemistry in diverse C4 grasses Save
- Kinetic variation in grass phospho enol pyruvate carboxylases provides opportunity to enhance C 4 photosynthetic efficiency Save
- No CO2 fertilization effect on plant growth despite enhanced rhizosphere enzyme activity in a low phosphorus soil Save
- C4 grasses adapted to low precipitation habitats show traits related to greater mesophyll conductance and lower leaf hydraulic conductance Save
- The fate of carbon in a mature forest under carbon dioxide enrichment Save
- Increased adaxial stomatal density is associated with greater mesophyll surface area exposed to intercellular air spaces and mesophyll conductance in diverse C4 grasses Save
- Nitrogen supply influences arsenic accumulation and stress responses of rice (Oryza sativa L.) seedlings Save
- C4 Gene Discovery Using Cross Species Selection Scan and Validation Using Setaria viridis as a Model System Save
- Water availability affects seasonal CO2-induced photosynthetic enhancement in herbaceous species in a periodically dry woodland Save
- Physiological and molecular insights into rice-arbuscular mycorrhizal interactions under arsenic stress Save
- Role of microRNAs in Arsenic Stress Tolerance of Plants Save
- Arsenic stress affects the expression profile of genes of 14-3-3 proteins in the shoot of mycorrhiza colonized rice Save