Ullas Pedmale
Associate Professor
Ph.D., University of Missouri, Columbia, 2008
[email protected] | 516-367-5991
Unlike animals, plants neither have specific organs that see or hear various stimuli, yet, plants are sensitive to their surrounding environment and modify their development according to various external signals. My lab studies how the environment of a plant modulates its growth and development. Understanding environmental control of growth will have far-reaching implications for agriculture, energy production, and many other human activities.
Plants and animals interact with their environment. Since plants are incapable to move around, they are sensitive to their surrounding environment and modify their development according to external signals. Plants face variability in growth conditions 鈥 temperature, light quality and quantity, herbivores, pathogens, water availability etc. Yet, plants respond to these biotic and abiotic factors and survive substantial fluctuations in its environment. Plants also must balance the range of potential threats and benefits confronting it and should make appropriate decisions on resource allocation. Such adaptability is essential for the sessile nature of the plants. The mechanisms that underlie this adaptability likely involve complex signaling to generate the appropriate response. In some adaptive responses, for example, when the plants have to cope with climate change and increased competition for light, there is a decrease in productivity (yield, biomass) as the plant relocates resources to better adapt.
The Pedmale Lab鈥檚 research goals seek to determine the mechanisms behind how a plant perceives and successfully adapts to its environment. We also aim to understand how a plant must integrate intrinsic and extrinsic cues and 鈥榙ecide鈥 how best to respond to environmental cues. Understanding how plants deal with, and respond to a multitude of environmental signals could help to develop crops that cope with unfavorable growth conditions without significant changes in yield.
No eyes, no brain, no problem
March 19, 2026
In our latest Cocktails & Chromosomes, Ullas Pedmale breaks down the incredible biology that enables plants to survive and thrive.
Uplands Farm: Grounds for discovery
November 12, 2025
How a 12-acre research station is inspiring innovations needed to feed and fuel the world far into the future.
The CSHL School of Biological Sciences鈥 class of 2024
May 5, 2024
The School of Biological Sciences awarded Ph.D. degrees to 11 students this year. Here are some stories and reflections from their time at CSHL.
Cocktails & Chromosomes: Best shots of 2023
January 16, 2024
After a four-year hiatus, Cocktails & Chromosomes returned in 2023. Relive the past year鈥檚 best moments and see what鈥檚 in store for 2024.
Cocktails & Chromosomes: Uprooting climate change
September 21, 2023
Pull up a stool to watch CSHL Associate Professor Ullas Pedmale speak about plants and climate change at Industry bar in Huntington, NY.
颁厂贬尝鈥檚 Cocktails & Chromosomes series returns this summer
June 22, 2023
The event, serving up stimulating science talks over delicious drinks, heads to Industry bar in Huntington, New York. First on tap for June 29 is AI.
Climate-control technology future-proofs plants
June 13, 2023
Take a virtual tour of 颁厂贬尝鈥檚 new state-of-the-art growth chambers with plant biologist Ullas Pedmale.
New CSHL technology controls the weather and time itself
June 8, 2023
State-of-the-art plant growth chambers at CSHL allow scientists to mimic the effects of climate change on crops around the world.
What shedding light on plant growth could mean for cancer
June 13, 2022
CSHL researchers have found a new way to control plant growth by manipulating proteins involved in the process of detecting light.
Do you have the dirt on plant research?
March 31, 2022
New research is constantly sprouting. Take this quiz and test your plant knowledge.
All Publications
12 Aug 2025 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | 122(32):e2502445122
Huang, Aobo; Zhang, Jinming; Liu, Zhendong; Schoen, Vanessa; Verma, Deepanjali; Zheng, Haiyan; Pedmale, Ullas; Dong, Juan;  
21 Aug 2023 | New Phytologist
Norén Lindbäck, Louise; Ji, Yan; Cervela-Cardona, Luis; Jin, Xu; Pedmale, Ullas; Strand, Åsa;  
17 Jan 2023 | bioRxiv
Artz, Oliver; Ackermann, Amanda; Taylor, Laura; Koo, Peter; Pedmale, Ullas;  
16 Jan 2023 | bioRxiv
Hu, Yuzhao; Rosado, Daniele; Lindb Ck, Louise; Micko, Julie; Pedmale, Ullas;  
Dec 2022 | Nature Neuroscience | 25(12):1735
Auguste, Yohan; Ferro, Austin; Kahng, Jessica; Xavier, Andre; Dixon, Jessica; Vrudhula, Uma; Nichitiu, Anne-Sarah; Rosado, Daniele; Wee, Tse-Luen; Pedmale, Ullas; Cheadle, Lucas;  
28 Sep 2022 | Nature Neuroscience
Auguste, Yohan; Ferro, Austin; Kahng, Jessica; Xavier, Andre; Dixon, Jessica; Vrudhula, Uma; Nichitiu, Anne-Sarah; Rosado, Daniele; Wee, Tse-Luen; Pedmale, Ullas; Cheadle, Lucas;  
26 Jul 2022 | The Plant Cell | :koac211
Corcoran, Emma; LeBlanc, Chantal; Huang, Yi-Chun; Tsang, Mia; Sarkiss, Anthony; Hu, Yuzhao; Pedmale, Ullas; Jacob, Yannick;  
6 Jun 2022 | Current Biology
Lindbäck, Louise; Hu, Yuzhao; Ackermann, Amanda; Artz, Oliver; Pedmale, Ullas;  
27 Oct 2021 | Plant Physiology
Rosado, Daniele; Ackermann, Amanda; Spassibojko, Olya; Rossi, Magdalena; Pedmale, Ullas;  
2021 | bioRxiv
Rosado, Daniele; Ackermann, Amanda; Spassibojko, Olya; Rossi, Magdalena; Pedmale, Ullas;