I love the idea of finding something new, of learning something about plants that nobody has known before.
- Sienna Ogawa, PhD candidate, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology
The student
Aspiring to become a marine biologist wasn’t all that unusual among her peers in Honolulu, says Sienna Ogawa, an Oahu native whose interest in sea creatures led her to study biology and biochemistry at the University of Nevada, Reno. “In Hawaii, there’s not a lot of basic plant research, so I always associated plant sciences with farming or soil science — more applied, which is not necessarily where my interests were,” she says. Like Purdue, the biochemistry department at University of Nevada, Reno is housed in agriculture. In her junior year, Ogawa was introduced to plant sciences through undergraduate research in a plant molecular biology lab, and her interest moved from the sea onto land. She applied to plant biology PhD programs across the country but specifically wanted one that would allow her to rotate through multiple plant biology labs before choosing the right fit. In fall 2019, she entered Purdue’s PULSe program and began the rotations that led her to join the lab of Sharon Kessler, associate professor of botany and plant pathology.
The research
A self-described “ideas person,” Ogawa says the through line on her multiple projects is a biochemical approach — using such tools as genetics and microscopy — to study calcium signaling in plant reproduction and response to various forms of stress. A USDA-NIFA fellowship supports her work on calcium signaling during root hair development, and how altering root development can alter plant response to water and salt stress. Ogawa has designed some of her projects to be collaborative with other labs. “I’m of a mindset that science is better done with other people,” she says, and credits Kessler’s flexibility within the groundwork of the lab. “She is through and through a plant reproduction person, so having the support and the freedom to find my collaborations and chase my ideas has been wonderful,” Ogawa says.
Opportunities
In addition to attending several conferences, Ogawa spoke at the American Society of Plant Biologists in her home state in June. She has published a paper based on her research and has others in the works that may publish before she graduates in May 2025. Her most impactful activity, she says, has been as president of the Center for Plant Biology Training Association, the graduate student and postdoctoral organization of trainees from seven departments. “The networking, and being able to direct professional development events and bring people in to talk about career opportunities, has been fulfilling and also helpful for me.”
Future plans
Ogawa is currently seeking a postdoctoral position. “The dream is to have my own lab one day and stay in academia,” she says. She hopes her position will combine research and teaching, based on her enjoyment of mentoring six undergraduates in the Kessler lab and teaching for two semesters. Outside of the lab, she is enjoying her balcony garden, cooking and baking sourdough bread, “which also feels very ‘science’ because it’s fermentation,” she says. She likes spending time with her partner and Gus, their female cat whose nickname is short for Asparagus.
