Kirk Amundson
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kirkamundson.bsky.social
Kirk Amundson
@kirkamundson.bsky.social
USDA NIFA Postdoctoral Fellow, UMass Amherst
Plant Genome Evolution | Grasses
i stan sandwich chimeras
Finally out! We measured mutations in tetraploid potato. Highlights:

- higher mutation rates in L1 than L2
- even higher rates and a distinct oxidative stress signature outside of meristems
- lower mutation rates in genes everywhere we looked

More 👇
www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2514507122
PNAS
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a peer reviewed journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) - an authoritative source of high-impact, original research that broadly spans...
nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:23 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Are you looking for a PhD in Plant Science? Check our our project on barley canopy architecture. Combine genetics and physics to understand how awns influence barley grain development. Find out more here: lnkd.in/eWhWammJ Apply by 14th December. #PhDPosition
#PlantSci @instmolplantsci.bsky.social
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
lnkd.in
November 10, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Warning. ⚠️ If you are writing an NSF GRFP, new this year, you need official transcripts to apply. Beware. They will not review applications without official transcripts. ‼️
November 4, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Our lab’s variegated peperomia makes green flecks on leaves, but only on the abaxial side. It’s the typical sandwich: L1 green-L2 yellow-L3 green, so guessing flecks are L1-derived cells dividing periclinally into L2. But how only on the abaxial side? Something to do with the super thick epidermis?
October 31, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Come work with us!!

We have a great group of plant biologists already, and there are FOUR searches for new plant biologists of different flavours across campus. We also have an outstanding group of animal physiologists (including @mstager.bsky.social ). Please apply!!
Just a few days left to apply to our TT position in Plant Physiology in the Dept. of Biology @UMassAmherst! Join a great group of plant scientists (and physiologists 😉) AND fall in love with small town New England! Please repost. careers.umass.edu/amherst/en-u...
Details - Assistant Professor - Plant Physiology | Human Resources | UMass Amherst
careers.umass.edu
October 29, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Just for fun, here's a game I like to call "Find the neuron" with examples of olfactory sensory neuron images from Šmít et al 2017 (doi.org/10.7554/eLif...) and Filoreta ramosa, a free-living syncytial amoeba from a salt marsh.
October 29, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
My PhD work is up on bioRxiv! Read all about the #actin and #microtubule #cytoskeleton of the Rhizarian #amoeba Filoreta ramosa here: www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
October 29, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
PD fellowship opportunity! New project ideas on medicinal plant engineering, cell type specific response to elicitation of biosynthesis, and epigenome/cloning evolution of long term cultured plant cells in the context of chemical production. www.simonsfoundation.org/grant/simons...
Email me!
Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Plant Biology
Simons Postdoctoral Fellowships in Plant Biology on Simons Foundation
www.simonsfoundation.org
October 14, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
The @uncchapelhill.bsky.social Department of Biology is searching for tenure-track Assistant Professor in Plant Molecular Biology. Chapel Hill is a wonderful place and Biology is an amazing group of people. To apply, see:
unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/307...
October 6, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Of note: "Of particular importance, the successful candidate will have a demonstrated understanding of the strength that is brought to science through diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility."
October 6, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Here is a great job for the right plant physiologist.
October 4, 2025 at 7:16 PM
UMass Amherst Biology is recruiting a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the area of Plant Physiology. Deadline Nov 1. Please spread the word and apply!

careers.massachusetts.edu/mob/en-us/jo...
Assistant Professor - Plant Physiology
The Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor position in the area of Plant Physiology. The successful can...
careers.massachusetts.edu
October 4, 2025 at 7:04 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Looks like the solicitation finally posted! www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
September 26, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
"With 2 weeks left before the end of this fiscal year, USDA’s [NIFA] had awarded just 558 competitive grants ... 68% fewer than during the prior fiscal year—and $741 million less in competitively awarded research funds"

Don't forget #PlantSci and ag research, folks.
www.science.org/content/arti...
USDA funding delays under Trump compromise agricultural research
Sharp drop in grant awards leaves researchers frustrated
www.science.org
September 18, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
My department is hiring! Join us! jobs.colostate.edu/postings/165...
September 8, 2025 at 7:41 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
While full solicitation isn’t up, looks like we have 2025 proposal deadlines for the GRFP: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
www.nsf.gov
September 8, 2025 at 6:10 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Once more, with feeling.

Using Kernza, a perennial grain with 1/3 the yield of wheat, to make crackers and beer for rich people is NOT a climate solution.

Only at the end does this piece quote @mikegrunwald.bsky.social on Kernza's yield problem.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/b...
Patagonia Changed the Apparel Business. Can It Change Food, Too?
www.nytimes.com
September 7, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Spread the word 😃
Our department has an open position at the Assitant Professor level 🌱
September 3, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Reposted by Kirk Amundson
Partial retention of ancient function increases genetic pleiotropy in grass evolution https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.08.22.670905v1
August 24, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Clonal variants of the Russet Norkotah potato cultivar are popular for their vigorous growth, delayed maturity and higher yield.

We tracked down the mutation that likely drives these changes to a TE that hopped out of CDF1. Out now in @plantphys.bsky.social

academic.oup.com/plphys/artic...
Clonal strains of the fresh-market potato cultivar Russet Norkotah changed the domestication gene CDF1
Dear Editor,
academic.oup.com
August 19, 2025 at 12:07 PM