Thesis project:

Currently I am working on the understanding the genetics for improving Sorghum bicolor as a biomass feedstock and for ethanol production.  More specifically, I am investigating a cross between an inbred sorghum developed for high grain yield and a sweet sorghum developed for maximum production of biomass and sugar in the stem (as sugarcane - a close relative).  Additionally, I am screening a wide diversity of sorghums for their value as biomass feedstocks.  In both instances I am trying to link molecular genetic information with variation in traits valuable for a feedstock / energy crop.  This will facilitate making future improvement for these traits easier and faster for both Sorghum and related crops (sugarcane, corn, pearl millet, etc.) (This work is in collaboration with Dr. William Rooney's group at Texas A&M).

More technically, my thesis goals are:

1) Identify QTL for tradeoffs in fermentable carbohydrate quantity and quality (grain starch, stem sugar, cellulose, lignin) between a grain and sweet sorghum.

2) Identify correlations between plant form (height, flowering time, tillering, etc.) with fermentable carbohydrates.

3) Identify QTL that affect total yield of fermentable carbohydrates.

4) Examine candidate genes in structural and non-structural carbohydrate pathways for co-localization with QTL in a mapping population, and signatures of selection in an association panel.

5) Examine candidate genes in structural and non-structural carbohydrate pathways in an association panel for signatures of selection and association mapping.

Additional current projects:

Selection mapping.  I am interested in using shifts in allele frequencies to detect genes under selection in breeding material.  To this end I have written a simulation and integrated it with the Waples test for temporal shifts in allele frequencies in 'R' (a program for statistical computing). (In collaboration with Randy Wisser in the Nelson lab.)

C.V.

Research Interests:

Energy crops, population genetics (theoretical and applied), plant breeding , statistical methods for detecting selection, sweet sorghum, crop domestication, genetics of perennialism, preservation and use of wild germplasm, sustainable agriculture, agricultural paradigm change.

Education:

 -Cornell University, Ithaca, NY (August 2002- present); PhD candidate in Plant Breeding and Genetics under Dr. Stephen Kresovich; minors in Biometry and Plant Genetics                           

-Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI (August 98-Dec01) B.S. December 2001.  Major: Crop and Soil Sciences. Minors: Honors College, Bailey Scholars Program, Biotechnology GPA: 3.93

-Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, Netherlands. Spring 2000 - crop science exchange

Extra Curricular:

-President of Synapsis  ('04/'05)--plant breeding graduate student group at Cornell

Honors and awards:

-Cornell Graduate School Travel Grant to present at Plant and Animal Genome Conference, 2006

-ISPMB student travel grant to present at Plant and Animal Genome Conference, 2006

-NC State Summer Institute in Statistical Genetics scholarship, 2004

-NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, honorable mention, 2004

-Cornell Department of Plant Breeding/ Graduate School Fellowship 2002-2003

-Highest GPA in graduating class Dec. 2001 College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

-Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America

Recent Employment:

-Graduate Research Assistant Fall 2002-2003, Summer 2003-present

-Teaching assistant Fall 2003, graduate level class: Crop Evolution, Domestication and Diversity

-Growing In Place, organic community farm, Summer 2001

Publications and Presentations

- Wisser RJ, Murray SC, Kresovich S, Nelson RJ (In preparation)  Recurrent Selection Mapping Of Quantitative Trait Loci For Northern Leaf Blight Resistance In Maize.

- Hamblin MT, Casa AM, Sun H, Murray SC, Paterson AH, Aquadro CF, Kresovich S. (Submitted) Challenges of detecting directional selection after a domestication bottleneck: lessons from Sorghum bicolor.

- Murray SC, Rooney WL, Klein PE, Klein RR, Mullet JE, Mitchell SE, Kresovich S. (2006) Quantitative Inheritance of Carbohydrate Partitioning And Accumulation: Sorghum As A Biomass Feedstock.  Poster - Plant and Animal Genome Conference.

-Wisser RJ, Murray SC, Kresovich S, Nelson RJ (2006) Recurrent Selection Mapping Of Quantitative Trait Loci For Northern Leaf Blight Resistance In Maize. Poster - Plant and Animal Genome Conference.

- Murray SC, Casa AM, Hamblin MT, Mitchell SE, Kresovich S. (2005) Diversity and Genetics of Domesticated Sorghum. Poster - N. American Grain Congress.

- Murray SC. (2005) Modeling the Demographic History of Cultivated Sorghum Using the Site Frequency Spectrum. Oral presentation - Plant Breeding and Genetics Department.

- Murray SC, Casa AM, Hamblin MT, Mitchell SE, Kresovich S.  (2004) XGAp256 - Proof of Concept; A Sorghum Locus Under Selection. Poster - Eastern Great Lakes Molecular Evolution Meeting.

- Murray SC. (2003) XGAp256 a Locus Under Selection? Oral presentation - NSF plant genome review committee.

-Murray SC, Howell S. (2001) Comparison of different methods to lower acidity in Seval wine.  Poster Ð Michigan State Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum.

-Murray SC, McGrath M (1999) Genetics of Color Inheritance in Beta Vulgaris.  Oral presentation - Michigan State Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Forum.

Future Goals

I would like to work in government or academia, conducting genetics research for crop species improvement, changing policies and changing minds to focus on long -term sustainable agriculture solutions.  I would like to work on developing a bio-diverse, perennial landscape that could be used locally to meet food, fuel and fiber needs while providing sustainable habitat for other species

If you're into humor, my rarely updated personal webpage can be found at http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/scm33/