Allison Miller, PhD

Member, Danforth Plant Science Center and Professor of Biology, Saint Louis University

Allison Miller is a Member and Principal Investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Professor in the Department of Biology at Saint Louis University, and a Research Associate at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Since September 2021 she has served as the Director for the New Roots for Restoration Biology Integration Institute, a five-year, $12.5 million initiative funded by the National Science Foundation. Allison’s research program focuses on understanding evolution and plasticity in perennial (long-lived) crops and emerging perennial herbaceous crop candidate species. The long-term goals of her work are to improve existing perennial crops and to develop new ones that provide viable products and ecological services that underpin sustainable agricultural systems. Ongoing projects focus on grapevines, perennial, herbaceous grasses, legumes, and sunflower relatives. Originally from the Chicago area, Allison became passionate about plants through trips to nearby prairie patches and summer vacations in northern Wisconsin. She earned BS and MS degrees in Botany from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and Colorado State University respectively, and holds a PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Population Biology from Washington University in St. Louis. She completed postdoctoral training at the University of Colorado. Allison lives in St. Louis, MO with her husband and two children. More information is available on the Miller Lab Website www.perennialplantdiversity.org or on twitter @ajmiller4233.