ASPB members share a common goal of promoting the growth, development, and outreach of plant biology as a pure and applied science. This column features some of the dedicated and innovative members of ASPB who believe that membership in our Society is crucial to the future of plant biology. If you are interested in contributing to this feature, please contact ASPB Membership at info@aspb.org.

Membership Corner

Name: Christy Fleet
Title: Mellon Lecturing Fellow (teaching postdoc)
Place of Work or School: Duke University/ University Writing Program
Research Area: Transcriptional regulation, plant growth hormone biosynthesis, science education
Member since: 1999

1. Why has being a member of ASPB been important?
Being involved with ASPB helps me keep up with a broad range of developments in plant biology. Attending ASPB meetings gives me a chance to talk with colleagues who have shared research interests. Additionally, because teaching is a significant part of my job, I find the Education Forum of ASPB to be a helpful way to get new ideas for teaching resources.

2. Was someone instrumental in getting you to join ASPB?
My graduate adviser, Dr. Tai-ping Sun.

3. What would you tell colleagues to encourage them to join?
ASPB provides good resources for keeping up with developments in plant biology, science-related policy issues, and education.

4. Have you enhanced your career using ASPB job postings or through networking at an ASPB function?
Not directly, but attending the career workshops at ASPB meetings helped me be more informed about the job market. Additionally, browsing the ASPB job listings as a graduate student helped me begin to get a sense of the job market and think about how to prepare for future positions.

5. Have you had any success at finding candidates as a result of a job posting at the Plant Biology meeting or on our online Job Bank?
No.

6. Do you read print journals? If so, where do you usually read them?
I do most of my browsing online, but I still print out key articles so that I can consider them more carefully.

7. What do you think is the next “big thing” in plant biology?
It’s hard to know what the next big thing will be, but one thing that strikes me as interesting these days is further integration of biological disciplines. We are learning so much through the “omics” that I think we are in a better position to see useful connections across fields—from plants to animals, or from molecular to organismal and evolutionary studies.

8. What person, living or deceased, do you most admire?
Perhaps there’s no one person, but I tend to admire those who are willing to live by their values and try to make the world a better place, even in small ways.

9. What are you reading these days?
Mostly student papers! As time permits, I’m also reading some commentaries on bioethics. The last good fiction I read was My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult.

10. What are your hobbies?
Long-distance running, tae-kwon-do, and gardening.

11. What is your most treasured possession?
As trite as it may sound, I would say that the knowledge and experiences I’ve had matter more to me than any tangible possession.

12. What do you still have left to learn?
Everything. The more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to understand about those things I thought I knew.