Dr Suzanne Milner is Plant Biology Project Technician within Biological Sciences at UC Davis. As an ecological plant biologist Dr Suzanne Milner is interested in understanding how plants respond to  a changing environment.

Career history

2018-Present: Specialist, University of California Davis, USA

2013-2018: Plant Biology Research Technician. University of Southampton, UK.

2006-2008: Plant Biology Project Technician. University of Southampton, UK.

Academic qualifications

2013: PhD in Plant Sciences. University of Southampton, UK.
2003-2006: BSc in Zoology. University of Southampton, UK.

I graduated with a BSc from University of Southampton in 2003 and joined Taylorlab, initially helping Dr Rebecca Rowe, a first year PhD student at the time, with fieldwork. Once the fieldwork was complete, I continued working for Prof. Taylor as a lab technician, carrying out two research projects for Vitacress Ltd, alongside assisting PhD students with their research. This led to my PhD within Taylorlab on the flooding stress response of two Populus species where I spent two months working at Kew Gardens.

Having an interest in the effects of environmental change on plants, I stayed in Taylorlab to start on new projects, gaining more skills on spatial mapping and modelling. Through our group I am able to maintain a mix of field, lab and computer based projects. I currently lead on the fieldwork for Calgreens Lettuce project in Davis and Salinas, California.

Research interests

I have worked on many projects in Taylorlab on various crops. I am largely field based, having experience with bioenergy crops willow and poplar, and leafy greens crops such as lettuce and watercress. Although field based I also carry out basic molecular research, looking into the phenotype, genetics and nutrition of the various crops.

My most recent project is on our lettuce project, Calgreens, which involves improving the post-harvest quality and shelf life of lettuce. I work on three populations of lettuce (RIL, GWAS and CRISPR), carrying out trials in Davis, Ca and Salinas, Ca.