Stephanie Rossi
Biography
Dr. Stephanie Rossi is a Research Associate in the Department of Plant Biology. Stephanie’s research focuses are within the discipline of Plant Physiology and aim to improve the health and performance of turfgrasses under various abiotic stresses, such as drought, heat, salinity, heavy metal, cold, or flooding. Her current research objectives include determining the major effects that these stresses have on turf physiological response, morphological characteristics, and senescence processes, as well as evaluating whether plant growth regulators and turf health products may enhance abiotic stress tolerance by affecting endogenous biochemical and metabolic mechanisms. The findings elucidated by her current research are relevant to the current environmental challenges facing many turfgrass managers and may be employed in everyday procedures of turf management.
Stephanie earned her B.S. in Biotechnology and Biological Sciences in 2014, and her Ph.D. in Plant Biology in 2023 at Rutgers University. Prior to serving as a Research Associate in the Department of Plant Biology, Stephanie was a Laboratory Researcher and Technician. Her past research contributions attributed the leaf chlorosis associated with senescence to the activation of chlorophyll enzyme metabolism in cool-season turfgrasses and demonstrated that a multitude of natural and synthetic plant growth-regulating substances alleviate heat-induced leaf senescence, mainly by activating chlorophyll, amino acid, and antioxidant metabolism. Her work also sought to identify specific traits associated with heat tolerance to determine novel strategies for mitigating summer turfgrass decline, involving the development of turfgrass lines that remain green under heat stress.
Title and Address
Research Associate
Department of Plant Biology
School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey