Name: Shutian Li
Title: Doctor
Place of Work or School: Department of Botany, University of Osnabrueck
Research Area: Developmental Biology
Member since: 2009

1.  Has being a member of ASPB helped you in your career? If so, how?
Yes. It has really helped me a lot. First, since ASPB is a well-organized society with a good reputation, being a member adds much to my resume for job hunting. Second, I keep myself abreast of novel findings and significant breakthroughs in plant biology when I participate in annual meetings launched by ASPB. Finally, I keep contact with old friends and make new ones who are actively involved in plant biology research through participating in annual meetings.

2. Why has being a member of ASPB been important to you?
As a plant biologist, it is a great pleasure to be a member of ASPB. In addition, through participating in meetings and activities organized by ASPB, I am able to not only be kept informed of current research in plant biology but also make acquaintances.

3. Was someone instrumental in getting you to join ASPB?
No. I know ASPB through participation in the annual meeting held in Hawaii last year.

4. What would you tell nonmembers to encourage them to join?
I would tell nonmembers that ASPB should be their first choice if they would like to join a professional society. As a plant biology researcher, you will keep yourself updated in almost all aspects of plant research. In addition, you are able to develop a network of contacts. Finally, you can enjoy a conference discount, you are qualified to apply for several different awards, and you can freely have electronic access to two journals (Plant Physiology and The Plant Cell).

5. Have you found a job or hired anyone using ASPB job postings or networking at the annual meeting?
No, but I definitely will.

6. Do you still read print journals? If so, where do you usually read them: work, home, library, in the car, on the bus, or somewhere else?
No, I do not. I usually read electronic journals.

7.  Have there been any issues in plant biology in which you thought ASPB should be involved or that led you to consider becoming active in the governance of the society, and if so, what were they?
Yes, there has been one. Nowadays, scientists, including plant biologists, highly value good journals with high impact factors. I think ASPB should encourage people to value novel scientific findings rather than high impact factors.

8. What do you see as the most important role for scientific societies such as ASPB?
ASPB brings professional plant biologists together once per year, where they exchange their scientific findings. ASPB is a good platform for plant biologists to learn and communicate.

9. What advice would you give to a plant scientist just starting out?
If you do not understand, feel free to ask. There are no stupid questions, only stupid answers.

10. What do you think is the most important discovery in plant biology over the past year and why?
In my opinion, the most important discovery in plant biology during the past year has been translational repression by miRNAs in Arabidopsis. Most animal miRNAs function by translational repression, whereas most plant miRNAs trigger mRNA cleavage. A recent study provided biochemical evidence that translational inhibition by miRNAs and other small interfering RNAs is, in fact, persvasive in plants.

11. What do you think is the next “big thing” in plant biology?
I think the next big thing in plant biology is to generate marker-free transgenic crops.

12. What are you reading these days?
I am reading some papers associated with auxin signaling.

13. What do you still have left to learn?
I have a lot of things to learn. The top priority is to keep myself abreast of recent findings and significant breakthroughs associated with my research focus.

14. What could ASPB do better?
I think ASPB has already contributed quite a lot to the plant biology community.