My research since starting grad school has centered on plant-environmental interactions mainly regarding light perception. As a student and postdoc, I studied the molecular genetics of the plant circadian clock, which determines plant growth including flowering time and metabolism. I worked in the plant biotech industry for five years, performing gene expression profiling following the application of microbials to different crop species. At RPI, I returned to the topic of plant lighting and have performed research into indoor crop growth following changes in the light spectrum, research that has been sponsored by Nyserda/GLASE Consortium. My future interests include the regulation of betalain pigment biosynthesis in orphan crops, plant electrophysiological signaling and VOC profiling of crops following light changes - projects that can include omics profiling, biotechnology, and sensor development.
Dr. Elsebeth Kolmos is a senior scientist at the Center for Lighting Enabled Systems & Applications (LESA) Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY. She joined the LESA team in 2019, where she oversees plant research related to horticultural lighting, including LEDs. She brings experience from basic research on the molecular genetics of the circadian clock in plants and plant abiotic stress responses from her academic training and work in the plant biotechnology industry. She earned a PhD in genetics from the University of Cologne in Germany and performed her postdoctoral studies with Dr. Steve Kay at the University of Southern California.