معرفی
Kaitlin Palla serves as a Senior Lecturer in General Biology (BIOL 115) and Assistant Greenhouse Manager within the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Her dual role integrates academic instruction with operational management of critical plant research infrastructure, specifically overseeing the Hesler Biology Greenhouses (http://biologygreenhouse.utk.edu/). She maintains an active research profile while supporting university-wide biology education and plant science initiatives.
Dr. Palla's research program centers on crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) – a specialized photosynthetic pathway enabling exceptional water-use efficiency in plants. Her work bridges molecular plant physiology, genomics, and biotechnology, with significant contributions to understanding CAM evolution through genome sequencing (e.g., Kalanchoë studies) and developing genetic engineering techniques for trees like Fraxinus americana. She actively explores applications for sustainable agriculture under climate stress, investigating how CAM traits could enhance drought tolerance in crops and bioenergy feedstocks. Her scholarship extends to CRISPR/Cas9 applications in plant genomics and fundamental plant metabolism research.
Analysis of her 2015-2018 publications reveals a strategic focus on translating basic CAM research into solutions for food and energy security in changing climates. Her co-authored roadmap in New Phytologist established foundational frameworks for engineering water-efficient crops, while her Nature Communications work on Kalanchoë genomics identified convergent evolutionary mechanisms. She demonstrates consistent interdisciplinary collaboration across plant physiology, genomics, and climate science domains, with publications spanning high-impact journals including Plant Science, Current Opinion in Plant Biology, and New Phytologist.
As Assistant Greenhouse Manager, Dr. Palla oversees facilities integral to the university's research ecosystem, supporting projects across ecology, evolutionary biology, and conservation. Her operational role connects with broader institutional resources including the UT Herbarium, UT Etnier Ichthyology Collection, and Hesler Biology Greenhouses. She maintains an affiliation with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) as indicated by her staff profile (https://www.ornl.gov/staff-profile/kaitlin-j-palla), facilitating cross-institutional research in plant genomics and sustainable systems.
