معرفی
Sushma Naithani is an Associate Professor Senior Research in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University's College of Agricultural Sciences. She serves as Lead Biocuration Scientist for the Plant Reactome Knowledgebase and is an Affiliate Faculty member at the Center for Quantitative Life Sciences at OSU. Dr. Naithani directs the Naithani Lab, which focuses on developing system-level models of crops and evolutionary important plants using genomic data to understand relationships between genetic diversity, environment, and plant traits.
Her research expertise spans biocuration of genomic data, plant pathway modeling, systems biology, genomics, cell signaling, plant development, and photosynthesis. The Naithani Lab employs interdisciplinary approaches combining biochemistry, genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics to elucidate intricate relationships between plants' genetic, metabolic, and signaling networks. Current research aims to develop probabilistic models assessing impacts of abiotic stresses on crop yield and quality traits.
Analysis of Dr. Naithani's recent publications reveals a strong focus on plant pathway databases (particularly Plant Reactome and Gramene), genomic resources for crops including chia and grapevine, pan-genome analysis, and applications of biocuration to improve plant research. Her work bridges computational biology with practical agricultural applications, emphasizing data standardization, integration, and making genomic resources accessible to the broader research community.
- AgBioData Mission and Leadership Award (2025)
- Excellence in Biocuration Advanced Career Award (2024)
- Sustained Research Parasitism award (2024)
- START Superhero certificate for advising (2023)
- Excellent Scholar Award from XIX International Botanical Congress (2017)
Dr. Naithani mentors numerous undergraduate students through various research programs including URSA, STEM Leaders, and experiential learning activities. She serves as a Graduate Committee Representative at OSU and has advised numerous undergraduate honors theses. Her educational contributions include developing and teaching courses in plant biology, genomics, and bioinformatics, as well as creating open educational resources including the textbook 'History and Science of Cultivated Plants' (2021).
The Naithani Lab maintains active collaborations through the Plant Reactome Knowledgebase and Gramene database projects, working with international teams to develop plant metabolic pathway resources for species including woodland strawberry (FragariaCyc), grapevine (VitisCyc), and chia. The lab has received funding from NSF, NASA, and USDA to support its biocuration and genomic resource development efforts.
