Drakakaki Lab Breaks Down (Cell) Walls with Webster Scholar Award

After she transferred to UC Davis for her third year, Jacqueline Oerding considered herself “unbelievably lucky” to get lab research experience as an undergraduate.

Oerding is in the lab of Georgia Drakakaki, a professor in the Department of Plant Sciences who focuses on the complex processes plants use to build cell walls, allowing them to grow. The work also offers clues about how plants build resilience to stress.

This year, Drakakaki received the sixth annual Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award, which provides $30,000 in funds to support her work, including Oerding’s time in the lab. The grant honors those who advance the status of women in plant sciences through teaching, mentoring and leadership. 

“I am deeply honored to continue this work in the spirit of Dr. Webster’s legacy, building pathways, strengthening transitions and cultivating a scientific community in which women are fully supported at every stage of their academic journey,” Drakakaki said.

Benefitting from that award with daily lab work “is awesome, because this role is exactly what I want,” Oerding added.

Part of the Drakakaki lab’s research looks to demystify an integral part of plant growth.

When animal cells divide, the cell membrane pinches in the middle and splits in two during a step called cytokinesis. But plant cell walls are rigid, so cell division is not that easy. Instead, a plant cell builds a plate, dividing itself from the inside. This structure later becomes the new wall between the daughter cells.

 Oerding’s work focuses on the compounds used to create that cell plate: Callose, a sugar molecule that provides temporary scaffolding to stabilize the growing plate; and beta-glucanases, a group of enzymes that, when the plate is ready, break down callose to ensure the new wall is flexible enough to expand.

“It’s like when you’re tying a bow and another person puts their finger down so you can finish tying it,” Oerding explained. “There’s some reason why the cell can’t just build the final product.” 

Their research points toward future agricultural applications.

“Sometimes, the plants we’re working with look different,” Oerding noted. “They’ll grow their roots longer, or their shoots will be longer.”

That indicates something is going on in the process of making new cells. “Perhaps, if we knew more about how cell division is controlled, we could manipulate plant growth,” Drakakaki explained.

Support for What’s Next

Looking forward, Oerding hopes to continue studying proteins, biochemical pathways and plant biochemistry. But learning the science is one part of the bigger project motivating the Webster Award. The undergrad already is receiving support for her professional development, including a discussion with Drakakaki and grad students in the lab that will guide future steps.

“I could ask any questions I had about what it takes to get into grad school and what I should consider when picking a lab for grad school," Oerding said.

“I hope to become a professor and a researcher, and the skills I’m learning in the Drakakaki lab are exactly what I need,” Oerding added. “I get the massive advantage of living what real-life academia is like before I graduate, which I couldn’t learn just by sitting in a lecture .”

Webster Award funds the future

In 1979, after 12 years of struggle to get her work recognized, Barbara Webster [TK4] became the first woman faculty member in the Department of Agronomy, which later became part of the Department of Plant Sciences. During her time here, she mentored female students and fought for the increased participation of women in science.

In 2021, her daughter, Susan Webster, founded the Barbara D. Webster Scholar Award in her honor to advance women in academic plant sciences careers. 

The Drakakaki lab “has become a home away from home for me in a way that would not have been possible without the Webster Award,” Oerding said. “I feel a sense of belonging, while I’m inspired and challenged every day to push myself more and more.”

Oerding is excited to work with people who have already achieved their goals and to honor Barbara Webster by becoming herself a role model for other young girls. 

“A majority of my colleagues are women, so I never wonder whether it’s possible for my dreams to come true, because they’re already living proof,” Oerding said.

Learn more about Barbara D. Webster here.