Mae Mercado

Mae Mercado

@maemercado.bsky.social

PhD Candidate at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign studying maize rubisco activase and photosynthesis evolution in grasses. 2025 Plantae Fellow From πŸ‡΅πŸ‡­

319 followers539 following127 posts

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Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

The past couple of days have been rough, with my mom being in the ICU and writing my dissertation so I can defend in July. I made a gofundme a few years ago to raise funds for my mom's cancer treatment, and with this new ordeal, I am sharing it here again. gofund.me/e6f2a6a4

gofund.meDonate to Fundraising for my mom's cancer treatment, organized by Mae Antonette MercadoHi everyone! I'm Mae Mercado, a PhD student from the US. On July … Mae Antonette Mercado needs your support for Fundraising for my mom's cancer treatment
Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

Been receiving feedback on all the events that the ASPB Early Career Plant Scientists Section has done at #PlantBio2026 and all of them are really heart warming. I've missed a couple of meals because I get nervous doing the 3MT on the plenary but every event for early careers have been worth it.

Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

I love seeing people network through Trivia Night and QR Quest. I had really good conversations with people across career stages. The concurrent workshop that we organized was very insightful as someone who is on the job market right now.

Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

The 3MT is always a hit! As someone who won it in 2023, every year is just way better and I definitely would not have won had I chosen to compete the year after 2023 because the entries are just impressive. The future is bright for Plant Biology.

Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

Reposting just in case.

Mae Mercado@maemercado.bsky.social

Anyone looking for a postdoc/lab manager/scientist with experience in plant molecular biology and photosynthesis in the West Coast? Or places with direct flights to Seattle?

Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

Anyone looking for a postdoc/lab manager/scientist with experience in plant molecular biology and photosynthesis in the West Coast? Or places with direct flights to Seattle?

Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

Probably a reach here but I'm looking for someone (early career maybe) who would be willing to mentor me as I navigate the post-PhD life. I feel lost on a lot of things and would be grateful to bounce ideas and experiences with someone who's been through a couple of years post-PhD. 😭

Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

To academics out here who still see this, what do you do when you lose the joy of doing science? If you are a PI or a supervisor, what do you when you see your grad student/postdoc spiral and lose their joy and passion? Asking for me. πŸ˜…

Mae Mercado reposted

Chenxin Li, PhD
@chenxinli2.bsky.social

Please share! I'm looking for a postdoc. The position is to lead one of the following projects: 1) regulation of plant specialized metabolism by cell fate, or 2) foliar embryogenesis in the succulent plant Kalanchoe. Learn more abt projects: cxli233.github.io/cxLi_lab/res...

cxli233.github.iocxli233.github.ioPlant cells are totipotent, meaning individual cells have the potential to develop into a full organism, a property unique to the zygote for animals. However, in most species for most cells, plant cells are not spontaneously totipotent, since they must be treated with specific hormone combinations to unlock their totipotency. Species within the Kalanchoe genus is unique as they spontaneously develop foliar embryos that are fully realized plantlets with shoot and root from notches along the edges of leaves. We speculate that the progenitor cells that give rise to these foliar embryos are totipotent, and we are using single cell techniques to identify & characterize them. In addition to being a fundamental process for plant biology, we foresee unlocking totipotency has many biotechnological applications, such as faciliating genetic transformation and the development of synthetic organs of biomanufacturing.
Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

Bernard is up bright and early coz he needs to leave for Illinois today. Safe travels to everyone who came to #PlantBio2025! Bernard will see you in Ottawa next year for #PlantBio2026!

Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

Anyone on here who experienced changing a member of their dissertation committee the day before their defense? What was the guidance you received from your department/university? Asking for me.

Mae Mercado reposted

Leon Simons
@leonsimons.com

'The World Is Warming Up. And It’s Happening Faster' They still underestimate the rate of warming, but at least the consensus now agrees about acceleration.

Leon Simons@leonsimons.com

Seems important: All ('IPCC') CMIP6 models are completely unable to reproduce what NASA satellites observed! The rate of global warming (starting with Earth's Energy Imbalance and now surface air temperature) has more than doubled!

Mae Mercado
@maemercado.bsky.social

For those who have defended their thesis recently, what does your acknowledgment slide look like? And if you have tips on making your presentation, please feel free to share. ☺️

Mae Mercado reposted

Rafeeque Mavoor
@rafeequemavoor.bsky.social

🧡5 Top Free Alternatives to BioRender for Scientific Illustrations! These five websites offer free scientific illustrations for biologists. Great for presentations, research papers and other research communication needs. Save and share the post!

Mae Mercado reposted

Sebastian S. Cocioba
@atinygreencell.bsky.social

I got hit by some rather sudden and extreme financial hardship so if anyone is in need of remote wetlab contract research, strictly BSL1, do let me know. Currently scrambling for gigs. Plant, Bacterial, Archaeal Non-model Bioeng Custom Lab Hardware Turn Key Genetic Design Please repost for reach πŸ’š