Pioneer Member

Lindy Allsman– I am the lab manager for Dr. Carolyn Rasmussen’s lab. I have worked with Dr. Rasmussen for over 10 years and would like to submit my testimonial on her value to me as a colleague and mentor. Dr. Rasmussen is always approachable and willing to guide me, undergraduate students, and her lab in research techniques, goals, and experiments. I am privileged and honored to be in her lab which we term the “Muses”. We all bond in the field where we propagate maize for experiments right alongside with Carolyn. She prioritizes our safety above all else, especially in the field on hot days and in the lab, reinforcing us to stay home when we are sick so we can protect ourselves and others. She mentors hands-on while also encouraging us to think for ourselves. Besides her university committments, she and I meet every week to discuss experiments and lab issues. We also have lab meetings weekly to discuss current research and recent journal publications. She treats us to lunch often and celebrates all of our birthdays with a card and an Amazon gift card (she has done this since I started working with her). Everyone is important in her lab, and her mentality is that students should not work for free. I have worked with others who did not share this sentiment, and I am grateful for her!

Vivian Huang –  I was a member of the Rasmussen lab from January 2022 until June 2023. It was a place where I fostered friendships with some of the most supportive people I’ve ever known. I never felt hesitant to ask for advice, for a second pair of eyes to look over my calculations or for someone to bounce ideas off of. Furthermore, it was where I learned to overcome my nervousness of public speaking and presenting in front of others. Supportive, cooperative and always ready to lend a helping hand –this is the Rasmussen lab, the kind of lab that Dr. Carolyn Rasmussen had cultivated over the years.
As a mentor, Dr. Rasmussen gave me the opportunity to learn and equip myself with important skills that would be useful later on. I still remember the time when she told me “you’ll learn a lot in this lab”, and I did. I was able to implement knowledge I had learned in my classes, learned new lab techniques and met some of the most supportive people I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Most importantly, having Dr. Rasmussen as a mentor changed me for the better. I learned to be more confident in my capabilities to deliver presentations and answer questions; she also taught me to use “I” instead of “we” because my accomplishments were from my own efforts and I needed to take charge of them. I was pushed out of my comfort zone, but I understood that it came from good intentions. I have Dr. Rasmussen and the other lab members to thank for helping me become more confident and grow as an individual.
Dr. Rasmussen is one of the most supportive and passionate people I know. She displays an eagerness that is contagious and makes you really pay attention to what she’s teaching. I remember when she taught a few lab members and me how to use a confocal microscope. Her explanations were clear, concise and she was super enthusiastic to show us how to take beautiful images worthy of publication. At the time, my friends and I were nervous to handle such expensive equipment, but Dr. Rasmussen stood with us the entire time to offer encouragement. She kept a watchful eye out to ensure we weren’t damaging anything, but also pushed us to try taking our own images. Another instance of her supportiveness is when she held mock elevator pitches and mock presentations so I could practice for an upcoming symposium. Public speaking can be nerve wracking. However, after Dr. Rasmussen put me through multiple practice sessions, I spoke confidently the day of the symposium and I continue to view that day as one of my proudest moments. Lastly, I truly appreciate how much she does for the community through outreach programs. I had the pleasure of participating in one in 2023, where K-12 students came to learn more about what we did in the lab while also simultaneously showing them how important a step college could be towards their futures. Dr. Rasmussen encouraged us to teach the students how to differentiate mutants from wild type maize based on plant height and leaf imprints. This not only gave us the opportunity to practice public speaking, but we also got a glimpse into the teaching experience. This was the moment that helped me discover that teaching is really fun and something I might enjoy as a career in the future. Had Dr. Rasmussen not hosted this outreach, I never would have discovered the joys of teaching others in a classroom-esque setting.
Overall, Dr. Rasmussen has done so much for the plant community and taught me so much as a mentor figure. I truly believe that she deserves to be recognized as one of the ASPB Pioneers.

Cassandra Irahola – Since I first joined the Rasmussen lab, I have witnessed Carolyn’s enthusiastic yet serious passion for the research conducted in her lab and for mentoring others through subtle guidance, thoughtful feedback, and sharing her academic and personal experiences. I have learned a lot from her attitudes on planning, conducting, and analyzing experiments and results; she has shown me what it’s like to really think like a scientist and conduct efficient yet safe experiments, even through the inevitable troubleshooting and challenges that come with improving as an academic and as a researcher. I’m also grateful for the way she engages with the lab members – she always asks how we’re doing or what progress we’ve been making on our projects. She is approachable and kind, yet hardworking and willing to give honest, constructive criticism or positive feedback, not hesitating to praise us when merited. I know she ultimately wants everyone in her lab to succeed in their future endeavors and to provide them with any resources or guidance they might need to do so, which is a lot to ask from someone in the first place, but she does this willingly. The opportunities I’ve had to improve my scientific communication, comprehension, and presentation skills – whether through research updates and journal club at lab meetings or poster sessions at symposia – have been largely due to her motivation, guidance, and through simply having gotten the chance to join the lab. Ultimately, her mentorship has been a key stepping stone in my academic, professional, and personal growth as an undergraduate in the lab so far, and I am confident that she will continue to inspire, mentor, and support more undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs as an a-maize-ing PI, professor, and advisor.

Alison Mills – Carolyn was my graduate advisor for six years while I pursued a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry from 2016-2022 at UC Riverside. As an advisor, Carolyn was deeply invested in the success of all of her students. She would often make time to meet one-on-one with me and her other students on an almost weekly basis. During these meetings she was a tremendous help with designing experiments. She frequently helped identify protocols and resources we needed to execute experiments. She was very proactive about helping students work towards their career goals. I’m pursuing a career in teaching, and Carolyn was not only very supportive of my goals but helped me build critical skills and provided opportunities to build my CV. One of the most notable examples was that she encouraged me to design and execute a course-based undergraduate research experience for an undergraduate lab class at UCR. This ambitious project included six sections of about 24 first-year biology majors per section and entailed designing guide RNAs for the CRISPR-Cas9 system to create mutants in candidate genes related to plant cell division plane orientation. The project was a huge success, with students successfully designing guide RNAs and transforming them into Arabidopsis plants. Carolyn went on to help me publish the curriculum for the class in the Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education.

Not only was Carolyn an excellent mentor to her graduate students, she was deeply invested in the growth and success of undergraduate students at UCR. Carolyn frequently hosted MARC students in the lab, a program designed to introduce underrepresented students to research. She was also adamant that everyone in the lab be paid for their work, including undergraduates. She helped students identify potential funding opportunities and encouraged them to apply. If there were periods where students couldn’t acquire funding, she paid them for their time in the lab. Carolyn was also very proactive about sending all lab members (undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs, and staff) to conferences to present our work. These opportunities helped me hone my presentation skills, make connections with many amazing scientists, and allowed me to travel to beautiful places that I otherwise never would have. Carolyn worked to build a communicative and supportive lab where students and other lab members supported and mentored one another. We really did have a great lab-family and some of my closest personal friends are people I met during my time in Carolyn’s lab.

I continue to stay in contact with Carolyn while at my new position as an IRACDA Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Santa Cruz. Even though it’s been two years since I left her lab, Carolyn continues to be a positive force in the scientific community, having recently graduated her second female PhD student. I am so proud to have been one of Carolyn’s students. It’s difficult to put into words how much Carolyn has supported me and pushed me to achieve things I never thought I could. During those six years I experienced personal grief due to losing family members, a global pandemic, and so much self doubt that someone like me could have a successful future in the sciences. Carolyn and the wonderful people in her lab helped me through these challenging times and brought so much joy to my life. I’ll always be grateful for her guidance and support that brought me to where I am today.

Dawn Nagel – It gives me great pleasure to provide this testimonial for Prof. Carolyn Rasmussen to be recognized as a Pioneer of ASPB. Carolyn is an excellent researcher, colleague, and mentor. As a junior faculty member, Carolyn’s support and experience helped me navigate many aspects of setting up my lab and building a successful lab environment. She spent many hours reading my grant proposals and manuscripts and offering constructive feedback. Carolyn is a strong ally and a colleague that you can feel confident will support you in any situation without expecting anything in return and without judgment. Carolyn’s commitment to mentorship extends to her own students, as well as to other graduate and undergraduate students in the department. As the Advisor of the plant biology undergraduate program and the director of the REU summer program, Carolyn has directly mentored undergraduate students from various backgrounds. Students speak highly of Carolyn’s genuine interest in their academic and professional development. Because of her commitment to undergraduate education, research experience, and professional training, Carolyn co-led a USDA-funded program aimed at exposing undergraduate students to research opportunities and careers in plant sciences. In addition, Dr. Rasmussen has contributed to the plant biology community through service on several committees and membership in external scientific societies. I think Carolyn highly deserves this recognition and will continue to contribute to and positively impact the plant science community through her research, mentorship, and leadership.

Joseph Nguyen – ASPB is a well respected organization focused on the field of plant biology. With a high-ranking organization, it is only fitting that it should find ways to recognize those who are truly dedicated to the plant sciences. Therefore, I believe that recognizing Dr. Carolyn Rasmussen as a Pioneer of ASPB is a great decision. Although I have only been in Carolyn’s lab for half a year, I have come to understand her commitment, knowledge, and excitement of plant cell biology. Carolyn is someone who loves plant cell biology, otherwise why would she choose a career in this field? She is someone who is always ready and excited to talk about plants, whether that be casual talk or teaching her students or lab members. In addition to her enthusiasm, she is also very knowledgeable in the field and as a scientist. Whenever someone in the lab has a question, she is able to quickly deduce a possible solution and troubleshoot any confusing problems. Furthermore, with her deep experience in the field, she has found and done many different procedures and experiments in order to get the results needed. She is always learning everyday, improving her knowledge. Above all else, she is a wonderful and kind principal investigator under whom to work. She is fast to respond to any messages, and is willing to go out of her way to help with any problems you may come across. For example, she was a big help to me when I was struggling on how to dissect a maize plant in order to reach the division zone. She was very patient with me, and showed me multiple times how to get the correct dissection. With her dedication, knowledge, and kindness, I believe that Dr. Carolyn Rasmussen is an excellent addition to the pool of ASPB Pioneers.

Aimee Uyehara – I recently graduated with my PhD from Dr. Carolyn Rasmussen’s lab and can testify to Carolyn’s commitment to mentorship, training, and education for students in her lab. My first meeting with Carolyn was at the 2017 Maize Genetics Conference in St. Louis, where her talk on cell division orientation in maize inspired me to apply to the University of California, Riverside to join her lab. Carolyn’s research has advanced plant cell biology by using cutting edge live-cell imaging, biochemistry, and mathematical modeling of plant cell divisions to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that plant cells use to specify and complete cell divisions in the correct location.
Carolyn goes above and beyond to ensure her students reach the next step in their career. She meets with each PhD and undergraduate student on a weekly or monthly basis. In the six years of working with Carolyn, I published two papers, presented my work at conferences, and mentored four undergraduate students. Carolyn ensured that I never entered any of these situations unprepared by investing countless hours listening to practice talks or editing papers. Additionally, Carolyn guided me through a global pandemic, catastrophic project failures, and the personal loss of family members. Her brilliance as a scientist and unwavering confidence in me were instrumental to my success as a PhD student.
In addition to time spent with her lab, Carolyn is a co-PI on the UC Riverside Center for Plant Cell Biology Research Experience for Undergraduates (NSF-CEPCEB REU) Program and has served as the Plant Biology Undergraduate Program Advisor. Each of these responsibilities takes an immense amount of time and dedication. Through these activities, Carolyn creates positive experiences that support undergraduate education and trains the next generation of scientists.
The transparency with which Carolyn has mentored me has given me valuable insight into the academic career path I am pursuing, and I will take many of the lessons learned with me to my next position.