Full Name
Dr. Carolyn J. Lawrence-Dill
Job Title
Associate Dean for Research & Discovery, College of Ag & Life Sciences
Speaker Bio
Dr. Carolyn Lawrence-Dill is associate dean for research and discovery in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Iowa State University. In this role, she also serves as the associate director of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, which supports research related to global food security, protecting the planet’s resources and agricultural capacity, and navigating a broad array of social challenges for the benefit of Iowa, the nation, and the world.
In her research role, Lawrence-Dill creates tools to automate data analysis and provide unique data storage solutions. These tools help other researchers to accomplish their research goals more efficiently. Lawrence-Dill and her team apply these computational tools to improve crop science. Specifically, the tools leverage plant genetics and genomics information to better understand basic biology and improve crops. These skills are the basis for her administrative efforts to transition the CALS research enterprise into a more data-driven paradigm.
Lawrence-Dill holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Hendrix College, in Conway, Arkansas. She earned a master's degree in biology from Texas Tech University and a doctorate degree in botany from the University of Georgia, where her research focused on how maize chromosomes segregate during cell division.
After a postdoctoral position in bioinformatics at Iowa State, she worked for the USDA Agricultural Research Service as a research geneticist and lead scientist for the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database. In 2014, she joined the faculty at Iowa State in two departments – agronomy and genetics, development and cell biology. Since then, Lawrence-Dill has served as the elected chair of the Interdepartmental Bioinformatics and Computational Biology graduate program and co-founded a graduate degree specialization in predictive plant phenomics that spans six majors.
Lawrence-Dill represents Iowa State at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Experiment Station Section and North Central Regional Association of Experiment Station Directors. Her service on other advisory groups includes the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, the National Plant Germplasm Coordinating Committee, the Policy Committee for the American Society of Plant Biologists, and the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center. She was a founding member and 2019 chair of the North American Plant Phenotyping Network board of directors and served on the DivSeek International Network board of directors as well as the International Plant Phenotyping Network’s board of directors.
In 2009, Lawrence-Dill was awarded the USDA-ARS Midwest Area Equal Opportunity Award for plant germplasm and genomics outreach to American Indians. In 2020, she was honored to receive a YWCA Women of Achievement Award for eliminating racism and empowering women based on conduct in research, personnel management and building community.
In her research role, Lawrence-Dill creates tools to automate data analysis and provide unique data storage solutions. These tools help other researchers to accomplish their research goals more efficiently. Lawrence-Dill and her team apply these computational tools to improve crop science. Specifically, the tools leverage plant genetics and genomics information to better understand basic biology and improve crops. These skills are the basis for her administrative efforts to transition the CALS research enterprise into a more data-driven paradigm.
Lawrence-Dill holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Hendrix College, in Conway, Arkansas. She earned a master's degree in biology from Texas Tech University and a doctorate degree in botany from the University of Georgia, where her research focused on how maize chromosomes segregate during cell division.
After a postdoctoral position in bioinformatics at Iowa State, she worked for the USDA Agricultural Research Service as a research geneticist and lead scientist for the Maize Genetics and Genomics Database. In 2014, she joined the faculty at Iowa State in two departments – agronomy and genetics, development and cell biology. Since then, Lawrence-Dill has served as the elected chair of the Interdepartmental Bioinformatics and Computational Biology graduate program and co-founded a graduate degree specialization in predictive plant phenomics that spans six majors.
Lawrence-Dill represents Iowa State at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Experiment Station Section and North Central Regional Association of Experiment Station Directors. Her service on other advisory groups includes the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, the National Plant Germplasm Coordinating Committee, the Policy Committee for the American Society of Plant Biologists, and the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center. She was a founding member and 2019 chair of the North American Plant Phenotyping Network board of directors and served on the DivSeek International Network board of directors as well as the International Plant Phenotyping Network’s board of directors.
In 2009, Lawrence-Dill was awarded the USDA-ARS Midwest Area Equal Opportunity Award for plant germplasm and genomics outreach to American Indians. In 2020, she was honored to receive a YWCA Women of Achievement Award for eliminating racism and empowering women based on conduct in research, personnel management and building community.
Speaking At
