Dr. Dior Kelley, 2019-20 AAUW Fellow based at Iowa State Universiity

AAUW announced Dr. Dior Kelley, Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology at Iowa State University, has been named as a 2019-20 Fellow. Dr Kelley, a plant development biologist, has been awarded a Research Publication Grant in Plant Development Genetics for the project named Roles of an Auxin-Regulated Myosin in Seedling Development.

She earned earned her bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of California, Santa Cruz (2000) and her Ph.D. in plant biology from the University of California, Davis (2009).

Her laboratory has recently characterized proteins regulated by auxin, a fundamental plant hormone, and nutrient signaling in Arabidopsis. Future work will focus on understanding how internal and external cues are integrated during seedling development to influence plant growth, with a particular emphasis on stem-cell maintenance.

AAUW’s fellowships and grants have been helping scholars and activists like Dr. Dior Kelley for more than 130 years. These awards enable recipients to overcome barriers to education and advancement and to become leaders in business, government, academia, community activism, the arts and sciences.

For the 2019–20 academic year, AAUW is awarding $4 million in fellowships and grants to 259 women and community projects. This funding has a tremendous impact on women and their communities by expanding women’s potential and supporting their future promise.

By easing the pressure of financing academic and community work, AAUW’s awards help women tackle the growing burden of student debt and focus their efforts on the task at hand: developing the skills and experience to excel in their fields and lead innovative community projects to empower women and girls.