2024

*** The Madzima Lab has moved to the Department of Plant Biology at Michigan State University beginning January 2024 ***

Twitter/X Announcement

2023

Invited Seminar Talks:

(DEI) Plenary Talk – “Racial Reckoning in the Plant Sciences” - Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award Presentation at The Annual Plant Biology Meeting (ASPB), August 5-9, 2023, Savannah, Georgia.

(R) VIB conference on ‘Translational Research in Crops’ on 22 & 23 June 2023 in Ghent, Belgium. (Invited Conference Talk)

(R) Zimbabwe Plant Breeders Association (ZPBA) 2023 Annual Event on ‘Harnessing plant breeding innovations towards climate resilient and sustainable agriculture’.  Midlands State University, Zimbabwe. May 19, 2023.

(R) The Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan. January 23, 2023 (Invited Departmental Talk)

2022

April: Thelma receives TWO ASPB Awards (announcement link):

2022 American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award - The award honors an ASPB member with a strong record of increasing diversity and inclusiveness in the broad area of plant biology. The awardee has made a significant impact in mentoring, supporting, and/or advocating for the careers in plant sciences of individuals belonging to underrepresented communities. The individual may have made a significant impact in outreach and service to underrepresented communities and serves as a role model. 

2022 American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB)  Excellence in Education Award - recognizes outstanding teaching, mentoring, and/or educational outreach in plant biology.

March: Thelma receives the 2022 Maize Genetics Cooperation Leadership Award - recognizes maize co-operators who have inspired the lives and careers of other maize researchers through mentorship, leadership, outreach, and education. Special consideration will be given to the candidates who have shown a strong impact in the areas of inclusion, diversity, and equity. 

February: Thelma’s Promotion & Tenure application is approved!! Effective September, 2022. Thanks for all the messages (link)

January: Welcome to the lab Medelyn Hernandez!

Invited Seminar Talks:

(R) The Annual Plant Biology Meeting, July 9 2022, Portland Oregon. ASPB African Research Network Workshop on “Enhancing climate-smart agriculture to build resilient systems”. (Invited Conference Talk)

(R) CROPS 2022, Huntsville, Alabama. June 13-16, 2022 (Invited Conference Talk)

(R) Gordon Research Conference on Salt and Water Stress in Plants: “Mechanisms of Abiotic Stress Resilience and Applications for Agriculture”, Les Diablerets, VD, Switzerland, May 22 – 27, 2022 (Accepted/Invited Conference Talk)

(R) University of Washington, Department of Genome Sciences, and the Genome Sciences Association for the Inclusion of Marginalized Students (GSAIMS), April 27, 2022

2021

June: Thelma receives the UW Bothell School of STEM Inclusive Service Award Recipientthis award recognizes faculty whose community and/or professional service incorporates outreach or service to diverse, minoritized, or marginalized communities or populations.

Research Publication: Madzima TF+, Stefania Vendramin S,  Lynn J, Lemert P, Lu KC and  McGinnis KM+. (2021) Direct and indirect transcriptional effects of abiotic stress in Zea mays plants defective in RNA-Directed DNA methylation. Frontiers in Plant Science  - Plant Abiotic Stress. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.694289

 DEI Publication: Madzima, Thelma F. and MacIntosh, Gustavo C. (2021) Letter to the Editor: Equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts in professional societies: intention vs. reaction. The Plant Cell. https://doi.org/10.1093/plcell/koab186

Invited Seminar Talks:

(R) Cornell University Plant Breeding & Genetics Seminar Series, November 16, 2021

(R) University of Washington Bothell, Husky Highlights Seminar Series, October 19, 2021

(DE&I) Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Committee for Scientific Training and Mentoring (CSTM) Seminar Series, October 6, 2021

(R) Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, June 8, 2021

(DE&I) University of Washington Seattle, Department of Biology, HHMI Gillam Seminar Series, May 27, 2021

(R) University of Washington Seattle, Department of Biology, HHMI Gillam Seminar Series, May 26, 2021

(R) University of California, Davis, Department of Plant Biology. April 15, 2021

(R) Iowa State University, Genetics, Development and Cell Biology Department Seminar Series, April 6, 2021

(R) University of Wisconsin Madison, Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics (PBPG) Seminar Series, March 26, 2021

(R) Hamline University, Biology and Exercise Science (BioEx) Seminar Series, February 12, 2021. (Keynote Speaker)

(R) North Carolina State University, Plant and Microbial Biology Seminar Series, February 9, 2021.

2020

Grant for Research: Madzima, Thelma F. (June 2020 – May 2021). Epigenetic and environmentally-induced effects on plant development: translating from Zea mays (maize) to Setaria virdis (green foxtail millet). UW Bothell SRCP Seed Grant. Total award: $29,761.

Grant for DEI: PIs Thelma F. Madzima and Rebecca Price. (June 2020 – July 2021). Community-centered, professional support for early career faculty from URM & marginalized groups at UW Bothell. Campus-wide Initiative Project Award sponsored by the UW Bothell Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs (VCAA). Total award: $100,000.

Our paper is published: Stefania Vendramin, Ji Huang, Peter A. Crisp, Thelma F. Madzima + and Karen M. McGinnis + (2020) Epigenetic Regulation of ABA-Induced Transcriptional Responses in Maize. G3: Genes, Genomes and Genetics vol. 10 no. 5 1727-1743

Invited Seminar Talks:

(R) University of Massachusetts Amherst, Plant Biology Graduate Program Seminar Series. November 5, 2020.

(R) University of Puget Sound, Thompson Hall Science and Math Seminar Series. Epigenetic responses to environmental stress. October 15, 2020.

(DE&I and P) Florida State University, Careers in Biology: Teaching and Research at a PUI. July 10, 2020

 (R) Maize Epigenetics and Chromatin (MaizeEPIC) Network workshop. MOP1-mediated epigenetic regulation of ABA-induced transcriptional responses in maize. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. March 12, 2020 (Selected Talk; meeting canceled due to the global Covid-19 pandemic)

 (R) UW Bothell Physical Sciences Division Seminar Series. February 20, 2020

(R) UW Bothell Campus Research Connections: Addressing Human Health Through Biotechnology. February 6, 2020

2019

Kaheerman Saibire receives the University of Washington’s President’s Award for the Bothell campus! (June 2019) link

Rachel Calder, Kiana Imani, Ginger Lash and Kaheerman Saibire all presented their research at the 22nd Annual Mary Gates Symposium (May 17, 2019)

Invited Seminar Talks:

Oregon State University, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. November 7, 2019

Washington State University, Graduate Program in Molecular Plant Sciences. March 20, 2019  

Thelma is featured in The Daily of the University of Washington: “Celebrating Black Scientists” link

Undergraduate student Rachel Calder presents her research at the 61st Annual Maize Genetics Conference in St. Louis, MO. Thanks to the PUI Travel Award for supporting her travel! (March 2019)

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Undergraduate student Kiana Imani receives the prestigious UW Mary Gates Scholarship in the Winter 2019 quarter. Congrats Kiana! She recently presented her research at the UWB STEM Capstone Symposium (March 2019)

2018

Cynthia Chang, Thelma Madzima, Jackelyn Garcia, Alex Wachter, Rachel Calder, Jesse Zaneveld 190402A_001.jpg

Congrats to our Fall 2018 UW Mary Gates Scholarship Recipients: Rachel Calder (co-mentor Jesse Zaneveld); Jackelyn Garcia (mentor Cynthia Chang, co-mentor Thelma Madzima) and Sabira Kaheerman! link

Thelma receives a micro-grant from the Mindlin Foundation via the #1Tweet;1Percent Funding Opportunity: Establishing a critical professional development community of underrepresented minority (URM) STEM faculty in the Puget Sound area. Thank you to the Mindlin Foundation! link

Welcome to the Madzima lab: Adriana Basurto, Kiana Imani and Ginger Lash (Summer 2018).

UWB Biology Leadership Organization of Underrepresented Mentors (UWB BLOUM) proposal is funded through a UW Diversity Seed Grant funded by the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D) with matching funds from the UW Bothell School of STEM.  Co-PI's are UWB Biology Faculty: Cynthia Chang, Heather Galindo, Thelma Madzima and Jesse Zaneveld (March, 2018).

Welcome to the Madzima lab Sabira Kaheerman! (January, 2018)

Invited Seminar Talks:

Purdue University, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. October 31, 2018

2017

Welcome to the Lab Allison Thomas and Rachel Calder! (October, 2017)

Plant Biology, June 2017 (Honolulu, HI): It was such an honor to be invited to give a talk in the ASPB Minority Affairs Committee Symposium and to make new connections. #plantbio17 @ASPB 

Thelma participates in the Community College Genomics Research Initiative (ComGen) Summer Summit  in Leavenworth, WA, June 2017. Thank you ComGen via Bellevue College!

Congrats to our graduates and now "Lab Alum" Doi Bu, Bita, Stephen and Meron! (June, 2017)

Thelma is an Invited Keynote Speaker at the Highline College's 6th Annual MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement Program) Celebration and Networking Dinner  (May, 2017). I was supposed to inspire the students, but they inspired me!

Thelma receives a 2017 ASPB Women's Young Investigator Travel Award (WYITA)! Thank you ASPB.

BEACON Center for the study of Evolutionary Biology grant proposal is funded (on my birthday!). Plasticity and epigenetic modification as a form of bet-hedging in a highly variable environment.  This is a collaboration with the Chang Lab at UWBRead our BEACON blog post: link

Our Lab has moved into our permanent space! It feels great to have a home in UWBB 275! (January, 2017)

Invited Seminar Talks:

The Annual Plant Biology Meeting, Minority Affairs Committee (MAC) Sponsored Symposium. Honolulu, Hawaii. June 2017.  Madzima, T.F.*; McGinnis, KM; Huang, J; Vendramin Alegre, S. (CS-1-2).

UW Bothell Research in Progress. Trans-generational epigenetic memory of environmental stress: lessons from plants. Spring 2017. Population Health Series. April, 2017.

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Kathy Tran receives the prestigious UW Mary Gates Scholarship. Congrats Kathy!: link 

Thelma-Madzima_Kathy-Tran.jpg

2016

New UW faculty tour Washington, meet state leaders and incoming students (June, 2016): link

Welcome to the Lab Kathy, Stephen and William! (March, 2016)

Welcome to the Lab Isaac, Doi Bu and Meron! (January 15, 2016)

2015

The "Madzima Lab" becomes official! (September, 2015)

UW Office of Diversity & Minority Affairs (OMA&D) Welcomes new UW Faculty Members (September 9, 2015): link

2014

Fort Valley State University Alumni Spotlight: Thelma Madzima (September 5, 2014): link 

FSU: Maize analysis yields whole new world of genetic science (June 24, 2014): link