Jagdeep Sidhu: Advancing Crop Science from the Roots Up

Name: Jagdeep Sidhu

Preferred Pronouns: He/His

Hometown & Current Town: Sailbrah, Bathinda, Punjab, India/Columbia, MO

Graduation Year: Ph.D. 2023

Degree: Agriculture and Environmental Plant Science

Additional Degree & Institution: BS Agriculture, Punjab Agricultural University; MS Plant Breeding, South Dakota State University

Current Professional Title: Assistant Professor of Root Biology

Name of Employer: University of Missouri

Brief Description of Your Role: I am an Assistant professor of Root Biology at University of Missouri. My role is split between research, teaching, and service. I teach courses on Root Biology (my favorite), agroecology, plant stress biology, and molecular plant physiology. Research wise, I’m focused on crop roots and within that I’m interested in crop root traits that can improve plant performance under stressful conditions, including drought, low fertility, and compacted soils.

Looking deeper, I’m focused on root anatomical traits, which is what you see when you cut open a root and look at the cellular organization. You might see large cells, smaller cells, different shapes, composition of cell walls, and so many other beautiful patterns. It’s fascinating that there’s variation, but it raises a lot of questions. Why would a plant have larger cells? Would it be beneficial for drought stress? Would it be beneficial for friendly fungi? Then the bigger question is, can we use these traits to improve plant performance under the abiotic stresses faced by crops.

Corn (maize) is one of the favorite plants that my lab uses as a model species. We also look at wheat and oats. I focus on understanding traits, how they work, and if a trait is improving a plant’s performance and how it is doing it. Once we have answers, we work with plant breeders, who can hopefully breed these traits to improve the stress tolerance of the plants.

Why did you choose Penn State?

I chose Penn State because of the expertise in root biology. When I was done with my master’s in plant breeding from South Dakota State, I was looking for who works on roots. The roots lab, led by Dr. Jonathan Lynch and Dr. Kathleen Brown, at Penn State was one of the main ones that I wanted to apply to. There was a lot of experience and expertise in roots, which has now transpired into the Center for Root Biology and Rhizosphere, which brings people working in different fields together focusing on roots. That’s something special.

What inspired you to pursue your degree?

I grew up on a farm in India, so it was quite natural. We had a small farm of about 70-80 acres. Going to the farm was a joyful experience for me. I really enjoyed any chance to go and do regular chores, harvesting fodder and forage crops, planting, and irrigating. But the main pull was driving tractors and the feeling that has not changed a bit to date.

After 10^th grade, I had no idea what I was going to do. I figured I’d end up in engineering because I didn’t see a future in plant science. But my dad found out about this program at Punjab Agricultural University where they were taking high schoolers to do their bachelor’s degrees. So, I didn’t have to choose engineering or medical sciences or something else, I was able to do this program. It was a six-year program instead of standard four-year programs.

It was honestly one of the easiest decisions. Plants have been part of the way I think about the world. Then plant breeding came into play because it’s quite fascinating that you can not only understand plants but tweak them to make them better.

You’re now a professor. What made you pursue academia?

I think it was the pursuit of curiosity and the freedom to choose the experiments I want to do, the questions I want to ask, and the crops that I wanted to work with. At the end of the day, I want my research to be useful for the broader community.

Jagdeep Sidhu teaching students outside.

I also really love teaching and that came naturally with this job. Interacting with students and their energy, they’re the future generation and you get to spend time with them on a daily basis. I never feel old working at the university. I get to work with undergraduate and graduate students. Each comes with their own mindset, and I get to play a part in shaping their future.

Mentorship is another aspect. I had a great professor, Dr. Navtej Bains, for my bachelor’s and the way he looked at breeding and genetics was fascinating. I couldn’t believe he got to do that. Then my master’s advisor, Dr. Sunish Sehgal, asked really interesting questions. At Penn State, Dr. Jonathan Lynch and Dr. Ruairidh Sawers were outstanding to work with and it was so interesting how they see the world and the questions they ask.

Academia offered me the opportunity to have all of that. I feel very grateful to have this job at Mizzou, I love it!

What clubs and organizations were you involved in?

I was a founding member of the Graduate and Professionals Outdoor Club. Zachary Dashner initiated it. It was quite fun. We went on hikes and did camping trips. I was also a member of the Plant Science Graduate Student Association, which has grown quite a bit, thanks to Patrick Sydow. I also enjoyed participating in the Latin Student Association activities, where I met a lot of special friends.

What is a favorite Penn State memory?

One would be when I was a teaching assistant for the plant nutrition class. It was during COVID. We were trying to do labs online and it was challenging being on camera and trying to show the plants and roots. But we made it work. A year later, we did it again. I ended up getting a card from one of the students saying that they had really enjoyed the class and appreciated the effort the teaching assistants put into the class. I didn’t know if we did a good job at the time, but that letter was nice feedback.

Another would be spending time at Rock Springs farm. We would go in the morning and there’d be fog covering the hills and it had really nice views. We would always joke about how we were always covered in mud. We’d have to shovel dirt out of these big tubs after washing the roots. We joked that we didn’t look like scientists at all.

Looking back, I’d do it all over again, wink wink.

How has your Penn State education influenced your career?

It has influenced my career very much. I would not have gained the knowledge I have about roots, which is my main focus. I also minored in statistics, so how I look at and analyze the data has been shaped by that. My committee member, Dr. Scott Roths, from the statistics department taught me about many specific statistical methods, which I still use. Then my experience with my postdoc advisor, Dr. Sawers, taught me a lot about genetics and I use that every day now to make sense of the maize populations and mutants. That’s been very helpful.

In a broader picture, I think of the community I had and the friends I made from different countries was great. If I hadn’t attended Penn State, I would never know people from all these different places and parts of the world. I still leverage the collaborations and connections I made. I also got to travel to different places like Europe. I also went to Colorado and Wisconsin.

What are one or two of your proudest accomplishments in which your Penn State education played a role?

I’m proud of discovering new traits, making sense out of them, and seeing how they are related to improving plant performance under drought. I’m pretty happy about that. One example would be how polyploidy in plants relates to resource acquisition in the soil. With Jonathan’s ideas and my background in wheat, that came together and gave rise to that project.

Another thing would be the way I was able to connect back home with kids in my village in a small soccer club. It was pretty cool to have them see me here, to show them parts of the University, and to show them people playing soccer there. To share that with them is something I’m proud of.

And off course, I’m proud of all my friends from Penn State, some are still there doing amazing science and others have gone on to other important roles around the globe.

What was the best advice you’ve ever received?

I think during my Ph.D., my focus initially was just to graduate. But my committee, and Jonathan specifically, pushed me to take on something risky. He said it would be worth it. Basically, not allowing me to settle for something that would just guarantee I would graduate. That was an easier way. But they encouraged me to take risks and make wise choices along the way.

What advice would you give to a current student?

I think it would be to focus on critical thinking. Never look at the data without questioning it.

I would also say to embrace the changes. If you’re about to design a new protocol that you haven’t done before, never be discouraged to try new things. Just keep at it. When you look at something, has it been done by other people? That means you can do it too. If it hasn’t, that means you’ll be the first to do it and that’s an even better reason to do it.

Why are you proud to be a Penn State Ag Sciences alum?

I would say the friendly environment that felt like a home. I found our department head Erin Connolly very approachable. In my building, the culture was very collaborative. If I had to pick one word, it would be community and I’m proud of that.