About the Lab
The Pedersen Lab investigates how plants survive and function under challenging environmental conditions such as flooding, hypoxia, salinity, and drought. The group focuses on understanding how oxygen moves within plant tissues and how internal oxygen availability shapes plant metabolism, growth, and stress tolerance. By studying crops such as rice, wheat, chickpea, and tomato alongside wetland species, the lab aims to uncover fundamental physiological mechanisms that allow plants to adapt to low-oxygen environments.
Research combines plant physiology, biophysics, and quantitative modeling with advanced experimental techniques. The lab develops and applies oxygen microsensors, gas-exchange measurements, anatomical analyses, and reaction–diffusion modeling to study internal oxygen gradients, root barriers, and tissue respiration. Recent work explores how root structure, metabolic activity, and specialized adaptations—such as aquatic roots and leaf gas films—help plants maintain aerobic metabolism during submergence and environmental stress.
The research has strong societal relevance in agriculture and climate resilience. Insights from the lab contribute to improving crop tolerance to flooding, soil salinity, and changing water regimes, supporting sustainable food production under climate change.
The lab is well suited for students interested in plant biology, environmental physiology, or agricultural science. Ideal candidates enjoy experimental work, quantitative thinking, and interdisciplinary research combining biology with physics or modeling, and are motivated to address real-world challenges in crop adaptation and ecosystem sustainability.