[Plantsci] SPLS Tuesday Seminar –April 22 – Elizabeth Berrigan, Salk Institute for Biological Studies

[Xiong, Zhongguo - (zxiong)]

Dear all,

Please join us in Marley 230<https://map.arizona.edu/107> on Tuesday, April 22, at 4:00 PM for a seminar presented by Elizabeth Berrigan, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, San Diego, CA. Dr. Alex Bucksch will serve as the host.

Zoom link: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/84253432688  (password: SPLS2025).
Refreshments will be provided in the Marley Lobby at 3:30 PM.

Title: Automated Root System Phenotyping Using Deep Learning

Abstract: High-throughput root phenotyping is essential for understanding plant development, stress resilience, and crop improvement. In this talk, I will present an automated, deep learning-based pipeline for root system phenotyping that leverages pose estimation to extract morphological traits with high accuracy and minimal annotation. By integrating machine learning model generalization techniques with scalable data management and MLOps pipelines, we enable reproducible and efficient root trait analysis across diverse species. This approach significantly reduces manual effort, improves model robustness, and facilitates large-scale, data-driven discoveries in plant biology.

Bio: Elizabeth has a master’s in physics from the University of Chicago where she studied the relationship between hydrodynamics and string theory. As an undergraduate, she spent time at MIT studying the time evolution of entanglement entropy using the holographic principle in a system approaching equilibrium to understand how different quantum subsystems are correlated over time with Professor Hong Liu. After her Master’s, she went home to New Hampshire and worked on a farm and at a community art center that sold sustainably made crafts. She is excited to be in the Busch Lab, using her quantitative skills to serve HPI’s goals. She is interested in developing deep learning pipelines for image analysis of roots in crops and using machine learning techniques for data analysis. She is at the greenhouse in Encinitas working alongside the phenotyping team as a bioinformatics analyst I. When she isn’t phenotyping roots, Elizabeth is tutoring math and physics or enjoying sustainable crafts such as wood-burning and making botanical dyes. She loves the outdoors.


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Zhongguo Xiong
School of Plant Sciences       BIO5 Institute
BIO5                           Email: zxiong at arizona.edu<mailto:zxiong at arizona.edu>
                               Phone: (520)-621-9869
Forbes 303, P.O. box 210036    Fax: (520)-621-7186
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721-0036          http://ag.arizona.edu/~zxiong
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