Siobhan Braybrook

Siobhan Braybrook is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, within the College of Letters and Science and the Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology. Her research focuses on the mechanical and molecular mechanisms underlying morphogenesis in plants and brown macroalgae, with a particular emphasis on cell wall dynamics, developmental patterning, and the interplay of hormones like auxin with structural components such as pectin. She integrates biomechanical, genetic, and computational approaches to study growth regulation across species.

Braybrook earned her BSc.H. in Plant Biology from the University of Guelph (2003), a Ph.D. in Plant Development from the University of California at Davis (2008), postdoctoral training in Plant Mechanics at the University of Bern (2012), and Plant & Algal Mechanics at the University of Cambridge (2017). Her work bridges fundamental plant biology and macroalgae research, addressing questions about cell expansion, tissue-level hormonal controls, and environmental interactions through the cell wall.

Her research themes include cell expansion and shape regulation in plants (notably Arabidopsis hypocotyls), macroalgae development (branching patterns, embryo growth), and cell wall mechanics (polysaccharide roles, methylesterification effects). She is also involved in method development for challenging systems like brown algae, including nucleic acid extraction and advanced imaging techniques.

Her recent publications highlight advancements in understanding pectin-based wall mechanics, hormone-cell wall interactions, and quantitative approaches to morphology. The 2023 article on maize preligule band cellular properties and the 2022 work on brown algal cell walls exemplify her cross-species investigations of developmental mechanics.

Scientific Awards:

• Cell Scientist to Watch (2018)
• CNSI Noble Innovation Grant (2021)

Braybrook's lab actively engages in interdisciplinary collaborations, with a focus on plant and algal biomechanics, and contributes to STEM education and sustainability initiatives. She acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as traditional land caretakers of the UCLA campus.