Former PRL postdoc Anne Rea starts as assistant professor at Maryville College
Courtesy Photo
Dr. Anne Rea, former postdoc in Dr. Jianping Hu’s lab at the MSU-DOE Plant Research Laboratory (PRL), accepted a position as assistant professor of cell biology at Maryville College in Tennessee.
Anne joined Jianping’s lab at the PRL in 2019 as a postdoctoral research associate. Her research involved studying peroxisomes, an organelle that plays important roles in energy production, metabolism, and photosynthesis.
In the Hu lab, Anne found a welcoming environment that allowed her to grow and develop new skills as a researcher.
“Jianping expanded my horizons,” Anne said. “She’s a great person to work with because she pushes you outside your comfort zone but then lets you explore your own research interests.”
While Anne is beginning her position at Maryville this fall, she will continue to collaborate with the PRL on a project she helped develop while in the Hu lab. This year she has also received support from the lab of Dr. Sheng Yang He, professor emeritus of the PRL who recently moved to Duke University.
“I would like to congratulate Anne on getting her new position,” said Jianping Hu, MSU professor in the Department of Plant Biology and the PRL. “I am very happy for her and wish her the best at Maryville. It was a pleasure working with Anne in the past two years. She made significant contributions to multiple projects in the lab.”
Anne began her career as a lecturer in biology at The Sage Colleges in Albany and Troy, New York. There, she fostered a passion for mentoring students and helping them achieve their career goals. During her six years at The Sage Colleges, she started to miss conducting research on a regular basis. She embarked on her postdoc position with the goal of one day becoming an assistant professor—a goal she has now achieved.
“The PRL is training people to be successful in their careers, and Anne is another example of this,” said Christoph Benning, director of the PRL. “I’d like to congratulate her on this position and taking this next step in her career.”
Anne holds a B.S. degree in biology from The Ohio State University and a Ph.D. in plant biology from Cornell University. Her background is largely in plant cell and molecular biology, plant reproduction, and microscopy.
By Kara Headley
