Schnable Lab News

Recent Highlights

  • TPJ Outstanding Paper award for Vladimir Torres-Rodríguez
    Vladimir Torres-Rodríguez and co-authors received The Plant Journal’s SEB-Wiley Outstanding Original Article award for 2024 honoring their paper Population-level gene expression can repeatedly link genes to functions in maize.
  • Hackathon wins at Bayer Agriculture Data
    Ryleigh Kirby, Harshita Mangal, Sofiya Arora, Jensina Davis, Hadiya Kounsar, Ozgur Altundas, Amany Gomaa, and Karla Cuéllar joined the Bayer Agriculture Data Hackathon, where Sofiya’s team won first place, Hadiya and Ryleigh’s team took second, Jensina’s team placed third, and Ozgur’s team earned the social engagement award.
  • Ozgur Altundas earns Agronomy Elevator Pitch award
    Ozgur Altundas won second prize at the UNL Agronomy Elevator Pitch competition.
  • Genomes to fields harvesting
    We are pleased to have completed our Genome to Fields Harvesting and look forward to the next steps.
  • Berkeley seminar on plant and microbial biology
    Prof. Schnable presented to the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of California, Berkeley.
  • Trio presents at Nebraska Plant Science Symposium
    Jensina Davis, Harshita Mangal, and Sofiya Arora each presented research at the University of Nebraska Plant Science Symposium.

Archive

### October 2025
  • TPJ Outstanding Paper award for Vladimir Torres-Rodríguez
    Vladimir Torres-Rodríguez and co-authors received The Plant Journal’s SEB-Wiley Outstanding Original Article award for 2024 honoring their paper Population-level gene expression can repeatedly link genes to functions in maize.
  • Hackathon wins at Bayer Agriculture Data
    Ryleigh Kirby, Harshita Mangal, Sofiya Arora, Jensina Davis, Hadiya Kounsar, Ozgur Altundas, Amany Gomaa, and Karla Cuéllar joined the Bayer Agriculture Data Hackathon, where Sofiya’s team won first place, Hadiya and Ryleigh’s team took second, Jensina’s team placed third, and Ozgur’s team earned the social engagement award.
  • Ozgur Altundas earns Agronomy Elevator Pitch award
    Ozgur Altundas won second prize at the UNL Agronomy Elevator Pitch competition.
  • Genomes to fields harvesting
    We are pleased to have completed our Genome to Fields Harvesting and look forward to the next steps.
  • Berkeley seminar on plant and microbial biology
    Prof. Schnable presented to the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology at the University of California, Berkeley.
  • Trio presents at Nebraska Plant Science Symposium
    Jensina Davis, Harshita Mangal, and Sofiya Arora each presented research at the University of Nebraska Plant Science Symposium.
### September 2025
  • CSA News highlights hyperspectral heterosis study
    Deniz İştipliler’s paper on how maize hybrid leaf spectra differ from their inbred parents was featured in CSA News.
  • Polish Society keynote on form and function
    James Schnable presented “What We Can See, We Can Change: Linking Plant Form to Gene Function” at the XII Conference of the Polish Society of Experimental Plant Biology in Warsaw.
  • International Meeting on Plant Breeding talk
    James Schnable delivered “From Breeder’s Eye to Silicon Eyes: New Tools for an Old Challenge” at the 9th International Meeting on Plant Breeding in Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil.
### August 2025
  • Lab gears up for Fall 2025
    The Schnable Lab is excited to start the fall semester with new members and fresh research directions.
  • New graduate cohort joins the lab
    Welcome to PhD candidates Karla Cuéllar and Ozgur Altundas, and MS student Hadiya Kounsar—we are thrilled to collaborate with you.
July 2025
  • Widaman fellowship for Sofiya Arora
    Sofiya Arora received the Widaman Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Award from UNL’s Agricultural Research Division.
  • Widaman fellowship for Nikee Shrestha
    Nikee Shrestha received the Widaman Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Award from UNL’s Agricultural Research Division.
  • Hardin fellowship for Jensina Davis
    Jensina Davis received the Hardin Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Award from UNL’s Agricultural Research Division.
June 2025
  • Sorghum flowering paper published
    Harshita Mangal and collaborators published “Genes and pathways determining flowering time variation in temperate-adapted sorghum.”
May 2025
  • Heuermann Award for Jensina Davis
    Jensina Davis earned a Heuermann Award from the Center for Plant Science Innovation.
April 2025
  • 2025 planting season begins
    The team kicked off planting season with new experiments and ongoing field trials.
March 2025
  • Deniz İştipliler returns for seminar
    Dr. Deniz İştipliler visited UNL to discuss efficient water use in agriculture.
  • Schnable Lab at ASPB Midwest 2025
    Undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs represented the lab at ASPB Midwest 2025.
  • ARPA-E Summit representation
    Jon Turkus and Chidu Ullagaddi highlighted the lab’s ARPA-E project at the 2025 ARPA-E Summit in Washington, DC.
  • Baker Plant Breeding Symposium talk
    Dr. James Schnable presented on scaling trait discovery at the Baker Plant Breeding Symposium.
  • Nebraska Sorghum Symposium presentation
    Dr. Schnable shared the lab’s latest sorghum research at the Nebraska Sorghum Symposium in Grand Island.
  • Maize Meeting Conference presence
    Graduate students and postdocs presented research on yield, nitrogen responses, and cis-regulatory variation at the 2025 Maize Meeting conference.
  • Nebraska Plant Science Symposium contributions
    Lab members contributed to discussions on advancing plant science research at the Nebraska Plant Science Symposium.
February 2025
  • Nature Genetics publication
    Drs. Vladimir Torres-Rodriguez and Guangchao Sun contributed to a Nature Genetics paper.
  • Jinliang Yang named Gardner Professor
    Dr. Jinliang Yang was named the Charles O. Gardner Professor of Maize Quantitative Genetics.
January 2025
  • New preprint on yield plasticity
    The lab released “Assessing the impact of yield plasticity on hybrid performance in maize” on bioRxiv.
  • PAG 2025 invited talk
    Dr. James Schnable delivered an invited talk on scaling trait discovery at the PAG Conference.
  • Satellite phenotyping spotlight
    Nikee Shrestha’s USDA NIFA-supported project on satellite-based corn phenotyping was featured in Plant People Planet.
  • Welcoming the new year
    The lab rang in the new year and celebrated ongoing collaborations.
December 2024
  • Celebrating a productive 2024
    The lab thanked collaborators and celebrated shared successes to close out 2024.
November 2024
  • Fangyi Li defends PhD
    Dr. Fangyi Li defended her Complex Biosystems PhD thesis on photosynthesis and cold tolerance.
  • ARPA-E Summit keynote
    Prof. Schnable addressed the ARPA-E Agricultural Portfolio Summit in San Antonio, Texas.
  • Precision agriculture lecture at SDSU
    Prof. Schnable delivered the Distinguished Lecture in Precision Agriculture at South Dakota State University.
October 2024
  • Jensina Davis advances to candidacy
    Congratulations to Jensina Davis on advancing to PhD candidacy.
  • PSI Retreat recognition
    Lab members were recognized for their work at the 2024 PSI Retreat.
  • Alumni return for PSI 2024
    Dr. Sunil Kenchanmane visited PSI 2024 to celebrate alumni achievements.
  • Conference doubleheader at MLCAS and IPPS8
    The lab presented research at MLCAS 2024 and IPPS8 2024.
  • Alumni engagement weekend
    Alumni Dr. Zhikai Liang and Dr. Deniz İştipliler shared career journeys with the team.
  • CSU Plant Adaptation Symposium talk
    Dr. Schnable presented recent lab work at the CSU Plant Adaptation Symposium.
September 2024
  • Visiting scientist joins the lab
    Welcome to Dr. Caner Yavuz, visiting scientist in the Schnable Lab.
  • Digital twin grant secured
    The lab earned a grant to develop a digital twin of cornfields for hybrid improvement.
  • Niranjan Pokhrel rotation
    PhD student Niranjan Pokhrel began a Complex Biosystems rotation with the lab.
  • Nebraska Corn Checkoff Presidential Chair
    Dr. Schnable was named the Nebraska Corn Checkoff Presidential Chair.
August 2024
  • Nikee Shrestha passes candidacy exam
    Nikee Shrestha advanced to candidacy in the PhD program.
  • Khang Hoang joins as visiting scientist
    Welcome to Dr. Khang Hoang, visiting scientist collaborating with the lab.
  • MS student Sofiya Arora joins the lab
    The lab welcomed MS student Sofiya Arora.
July 2024
  • Ramesh Kanna defends MSc
    Congratulations to Ramesh Kanna on a successful MSc defense.
  • Karla Cuéllar internship underway
    Karla Cuéllar started her internship with the Schnable Lab.
  • Rossy Bedolla joins as office associate
    Rossy Bedolla joined the lab as the new office associate.
  • Ryleigh Grove earns summer stipend
    Ryleigh Grove received support for a summer research project at UNL.
  • Corn gene discovery celebration
    Prof. Vladimir Torres-Rodriguez led a discovery of a new corn gene with promising applications.
June 2024
  • Zhongjie Ji seminar on canopy modeling
    Zhongjie Ji presented “Advanced Canopy Architecture Modeling in Maize” for the CROPS seminar series.
  • Harshita Mangal hits one-year milestone
    Congratulations to Harshita Mangal on one year with the lab.
May 2024
  • Schnable Lab turns ten
    The lab marked its tenth anniversary with the James Schnable Fest.
  • UNL recognition for supporting postdocs
    Dr. Schnable was honored by UNL for supporting diverse postdoctoral projects and skills.
  • Hongyu Jin defends PhD
    Congratulations to Dr. Hongyu Jin on a successful PhD defense.
  • Michael Tross profiled on AI for agriculture
    Midwest Messenger highlighted Michael Tross’s work on AI for agriculture.
April 2024
  • Zhongjie Ji named Heuermann scholar
    Zhongjie Ji joined the lab as the UNL-PSI Heuermann postdoctoral scholar.
  • James Schnable reaches 10K citations
    Dr. Schnable surpassed 10,000 Google Scholar citations.
  • Nebraska Plant Science Symposium talks
    Lab members presented talks and posters at the 2024 Nebraska Plant Science Symposium.
  • Harshita Mangal wins symposium awards
    Harshita Mangal earned lightning talk and poster awards at the 2024 Corteva-Nebraska Plant Science Symposium.
March 2024
  • Michael Tross defends PhD
    Congratulations to Dr. Michael Tross on defending his PhD thesis.
  • Hongyu Jin paper accepted
    Hongyu Jin’s first-author manuscript as a lab member was accepted for publication.
February 2024
  • Maize Genome Conference presentations
    The lab delivered talks and posters at the maize genome conference in Raleigh, North Carolina.
January 2024
  • Plant and Animal Genome conference talks
    Vladimir Torres, Nikee Shrestha, and Jensina Davis gave talks at PAG 2024 in San Diego.
  • Grower committee presentation
    Jensina Davis presented to the National Corn Growers Association grower committee meetings.

Looking for earlier stories? Browse the full archive.