Pronouns: she/her/hers
Dr. Madzima recently joined the faculty at Michigan State University as an 1855 Associate Professor of Diversity and Data Science in the Department of Plant Biology. Previously, she was an Associate Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at the University of Washington Bothell.
She received her Bachelor’s degree in Plant Science/Biotechnology in 2004 from Fort Valley State University, a Historically Black College & University (HBCU) and her Ph.D. in 2009 with Dr. Kevin Folta in Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Florida, where she was the recipient of the University of Florida Alumni AssociationGraduate Research Fellowship. Upon completion of her graduate training, she joined the laboratory of Dr. Karen McGinnis at Florida State University as a postdoctoral scholar.
The overarching goal of her research program is to understand how epigenetic mechanisms facilitate growth, development, and response to abiotic stress stimuli in crop plants. Her research interests stem from her upbringing in Zimbabwe, where she witnessed firsthand the devastating impacts of drought on agricultural productivity and human livelihood.
Dr. Madzima is dedicated to broadening the participation of individuals from groups underrepresented in STEM and is involved in several minority recruitment and retention activities within the scientific community. She previously served on the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (EDIC). She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Maize Genetics Cooperation (MGC), the MGC Advocacy Committee and the MGC Committee on Outreach, Diversity, Inclusion and Education (CODIE). In recognition of her efforts, she was recently awarded the 2021 UW Bothell School of STEM Inclusive Service Award, the 2022 MGC Leadership Award, 2022 ASPB Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award and the 2022 ASPB Excellence in Education Award.
Picture of Thelma Madzima in her lab