Our executive committee nominates a candidate for each position from within the current executive committee. This allows for continuity in these important offices. You can vote for the person that we have nominated or a write-in candidate of your choice
Dr. Jay Shockey
Dr. Shockey received a B.S. in Biochemistry from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM in 1991, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology (also from NMSU) in 1996. After graduation, he was awarded a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biosciences Related to the Environment in conjunction with Dr. John Browse at the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA. After leaving Dr. Browse’s laboratory in 2003, he joined the industrial oils group in the Commodity Utilization Unit, Southern Regional Research Center, USDA-Agricultural Research Service in New Orleans, LA. He was promoted to SY (scientific year) scientist status in 2005, and became Project Lead Scientist beginning in 2006. Presently, his group focuses on determining the cellular and molecular factors that control vegetable oil biosynthesis in oilseed plants, especially those that produce industrially-useful oils. Particular focus is directed towards cloning and analyzing genes representing many of the different enzymatic steps that make up the Kennedy pathway for triacylglycerol synthesis, as well as many other accessory and regulatory proteins that influence this pathway. He has authored or co-authored 16 papers in refereed journals and two book chapters. He is an active member of the American Oil Chemists Society and has been an active member of the American Society of Plant Biologists – Southern Section since 2004.
Dr. Shockey received a B.S. in Biochemistry from New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM in 1991, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology (also from NMSU) in 1996. After graduation, he was awarded a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biosciences Related to the Environment in conjunction with Dr. John Browse at the Institute of Biological Chemistry, Washington State University, Pullman, WA. After leaving Dr. Browse’s laboratory in 2003, he joined the industrial oils group in the Commodity Utilization Unit, Southern Regional Research Center, USDA-Agricultural Research Service in New Orleans, LA. He was promoted to SY (scientific year) scientist status in 2005, and became Project Lead Scientist beginning in 2006. Presently, his group focuses on determining the cellular and molecular factors that control vegetable oil biosynthesis in oilseed plants, especially those that produce industrially-useful oils. Particular focus is directed towards cloning and analyzing genes representing many of the different enzymatic steps that make up the Kennedy pathway for triacylglycerol synthesis, as well as many other accessory and regulatory proteins that influence this pathway. He has authored or co-authored 16 papers in refereed journals and two book chapters. He is an active member of the American Oil Chemists Society and has been an active member of the American Society of Plant Biologists – Southern Section since 2004.
Dr. Ashley McCaskill
Ashlee McCaskill received her B.S. in Botany from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1995. She received her Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, in 2007. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Robert Turgeon, with whom she investigated the polymer trap model of symplastic phloem loading. Their work culminated in the first molecular genetic data supporting this model. While in graduate school, Ashlee helped establish the Plant Biology Graduate Student Association and served as that group’s first president. In addition she garnered extensive teaching experience, acting as a teaching assistant for numerous courses for four years and was awarded the honor of Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant in Plant Biology. In 2009, Ashlee accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Plant Biology at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, GA. Since North Georgia is primarily an undergraduate institution, Ashlee has spent her first year engaged in teaching Botany and both the majors and non-majors courses in Introductory Biology. In addition to teaching, she will be developing her research program involving undergraduate students during the next year. Ashlee has been a member of ASPB since 2003.
Ashlee McCaskill received her B.S. in Botany from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1995. She received her Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology from Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, in 2007. Her thesis advisor was Dr. Robert Turgeon, with whom she investigated the polymer trap model of symplastic phloem loading. Their work culminated in the first molecular genetic data supporting this model. While in graduate school, Ashlee helped establish the Plant Biology Graduate Student Association and served as that group’s first president. In addition she garnered extensive teaching experience, acting as a teaching assistant for numerous courses for four years and was awarded the honor of Outstanding Graduate Teaching Assistant in Plant Biology. In 2009, Ashlee accepted the position of Assistant Professor of Plant Biology at North Georgia College and State University in Dahlonega, GA. Since North Georgia is primarily an undergraduate institution, Ashlee has spent her first year engaged in teaching Botany and both the majors and non-majors courses in Introductory Biology. In addition to teaching, she will be developing her research program involving undergraduate students during the next year. Ashlee has been a member of ASPB since 2003.