Tanya Renner
Ph.D. Candidate
Chelsea D. Specht Laboratory
Plant and Microbial Biology Department
University of California, Berkeley
431 Koshland Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720
trenner@berkeley.edu
http://pmb.berkeley.edu/~specht
CURRICULUM VITAE
(A) PROFESSIONAL PREPARATION
San Diego State University
University of California, Berkeley
Biology
Plant Biology
(B) APPOINTMENTS
NSF Graduate Research Fellow (GRFP)
Graduate student researcher, Dept. of Plant & Microbial Biology, UC Berkeley
Bonner Fellow, Conservation and Research of Endangered Species (CRES)
Undergraduate honors researcher, Dept. of Biology, San Diego State University
Undergraduate researcher, Dept. of Biology, San Diego State University
B.S. 2006
Current
2008-Present
2006-Present
2006
2005-2006
2004-2005
(C) PUBLICATIONS
Renner T, Specht CD (2011) A sticky situation: assessing adaptations for plant carnivory in the Caryophyllales utilizing stochastic character
mapping. International Journal of Plant Science. Under review.
Renner T, Bragg J, Driscoll HE, Cho J, Jackson AO, Specht CD (2009) Virus-induced gene silencing in the culinary ginger (Zingiber officinale):
an effective mechanism for down-regulating gene expression in tropical monocots. Molecular Plant. Vol. 2, No. 5 pp. 1084-1094.
Romanov MN, Tuttle EM, Houck ML, Modi WS, Chemnick LG, Korody ML, Stremel Mork EM, Otten C, Renner T, Jones KC, Dandekar S, Da
Y, NISC Comparative Sequencing Program, Green ED, Magrini V, Hickenbotham MT, Glasscock J, McGrath S, Mardis ER, Ryder OA (2009)
The value of avian genomics to the conservation of wildlife. BMC Genomics. Vol. 10 (Supplement 2): S10.
Rensing S, Lang D, Zimmer A, Terry A, Salamov A, Shapiro H, Nishiyama T, Perroud P, Lindquist E,
Kamisugi Y, Tanahashi T, Sakakibara K, Fujita T, Oishi K, Shin-I T, Kuroki Y, Toyoda A, Suzuki Y, Hashimoto S, Yamaguchi K, Sugano S,
Kohara Y, Fujiyama A, Anterola A, Aoki S, Ashton N, Barbazuk W, Barker E, Bennetzen JL, Blankenship R, Cho SH, Dutcher SK, Estelle
M, Fawcett J, Gundlach H, Hanada K, Heyl A, Hicks KA, Hughes J, Lohr M, Mayer K, Melkozernov A, Murata T, Nelson DR, Pils B,
Prigge M, Reiss B, Renner T, Rombauts S, Rushton PJ, Sanderfoot A, Schween G, Shiu S, Stueber K, Theodoulou FL, Tu H, Van de Peer
Y, Verrier PJ, Waters E, Wood A, Yang L, Cove D, Cuming AC, Hasebe M, Lucas S, Mishler BD, Reski R, Grigoriev IV, Quatrano RS,
Boore JL (2008) The genome of the moss Physcomitrella patens reveals evolutionary insights into the conquest of land by plants. Science.
Vol. 319, No. 5859 pp. 64-69.
Renner T, Waters ER (2007) Comparative genomic analysis of the Hsp70s from five
diverse photosynthetic eukaryotes. Cell Stress & Chaperones: Vol. 12, No. 2 pp. 172–185.
(D) AWARDS AND HONORS
Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (DDIG)
NSF Graduate Research Fellowship (GRFP)
2010
2008
(E) SYNERGISTIC ACTIVITIES
Societies: Botanical Society of America, Society of Systematic Biologists, Society for the Study of Evolution, Bay Area Carnivorous Plant
Society.
Graduate Student Instructor:
University of California, Berkeley. Department of Plant and Microbial Biology:
PMB 107 (Plant Morphology). Fall semester 2010.
University of California, Berkeley. Department of Integrative Biology:
Biology 1b (Plants/Fungi, Ecology and Evolutionary biology). Fall semester 2008.
Mentorship:
High school student
Teaching applications of genetics and laboratory techniques to students of an
underrepresented group in science at CRES.
Undergraduates
Sarah Starkey (UCB), evolution of carnivorous plants in the order Caryophyllales
Irene Liao (UCB), testing Allium for susceptibility to the barley stripe mosaic virus
(BSMV) and modified infectious RNA transcripts.
Josephine Wong (UCB), identifying class I chitinases in the order Caryophyllales.
Ivet Ramiriz-Oritz (UCB), identifying glucanases in the order Caryophyllales.
Shayla Saltzman (UCB), RNA extraction from Dionaea muscipula.
2006
2007-2008
2009-2010
2010-2011
2010
2011
Doctoral students
Juliana Cho (Plant Biology, UCB), testing of monocot Zingiber officinale for
susceptibility to the barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) and modified infectious
RNA transcripts.
Candice Cherk (Plant Biology, UCB), utilizing modified infection RNA
transcripts to study the role of genes in floral development.
2007-2008
2008
Exhibits and Public Education:

High school students to the laboratory, 2011. Introducing lab techniques including DNA extraction from strawberries to students at the high
school level in the Specht laboratory.

Mickaboo Basic Bird Course, 2010-current (3-hour class, once monthly). Teaching basic bird care and behavior for the public as
requirement to complete initial step to foster or adopt a companion parrot from Mickaboo, a SF Bay Area Companion Parrot Rescue.

Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society, guest speaker, 2010. Dangerously Beautiful: Carnivorous Plant Glands and their Digestive Enzymes.

CRES Seminar, guest speaker, 2010. Sticky Situations: Plant Adaptations for Carnivory in the Caryophyllales. Seminar for the
researchers/staff at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park and the general public. Arnold & Mabel Beckman Center.

Evolution Conference, research presentation, 2010. Plant Adaptations for Carnivory in the Caryophyllales.

The Bone Room Presents, guest speaker, 2010. Carnivores That Know Their Roots. Seminar for the general public at The Bone Room—a
natural history store in Albany, California.

Botany-The Students’ Perspective, profile outreach site maintained by the Botanical Society of America (BSA), 2009.
http://www.botany.org/students_corner/profiles/Tanya_Renner/.

Botany Conference, research presentation, 2009. The Evolution of Plant Carnivory in the Caryophyllales.

Volunteers of the Garden at the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley, guest speaker, 2008. The Evolution Carnivorous Plants and Chitinases in
the Caryophyllales.

Botany Conference, poster, 2008. Chitinases and the Evolution of Plant Carnivory.

PMB 24, guest lecturer, 2008. Carnivorous Plant Diversity. University of California at Berkeley.

Bay Area Carnivorous Plant Society, educational fact cards for annual show, 2007.

CRES Seminar, speaker, 2006. Bonner Fellow research/results. Arnold & Mabel Beckman Center.
(F) COLLABORATORS & OTHER AFFILIATIONS
Collaborators: Anterola A (SIU), Aoki S (NU), Ashton N (UR), Barbazuk W (DDPSC), Barker E (UR),
Bennetzen JL (UG), Blankenship R (WU), Boore JL (JGI), Bragg J (USDA), Chemnick LG (CRES), Cho J (UCB), Cho SH (WU), Cove D
(WU), Cuming AC (UL), Da Y (UM), Dandekar S (UCLA), Dutcher SK (WU), Driscoll, HE (UCB), Estelle M (IU), Fawcett J (GU), Fujita
T (HU), Fujiyama A (RIKEN), Glasscock J (WU), Green ED (NISC), Grigoriev IV (JGI), Gundlach H (MIPS/IBI), Hanada K (MSU),
Hasebe M (NIBB), Hashimoto S (UT), Heyl A (FU), Hickenbotham MT (WU), Hicks KA (MPI), Houck ML (CRES), Hughes J (JLU),
Jackson AO (UCB), Jones KC (GIS), Kamisugi Y (WU), Kohara Y (GUASM), Korody ML (ISU), Kuroki Y (KU), Lang D (UF), Lindquist
E (JGI), Lohr M (JGU), Lucas S (JGI), Magrini V (WU), Mardis ER (WU), Mayer K (MIPS/IBI), McGrath S (WU), Melkozernov A (ASU),
Mishler BD (UCB), Modi WS (CRES), Murata T (NIBB), Nelson DR (UTM), NISC Comparative Sequencing Program (NISC), Nishiyama
T (KU), Oishi K (NIG), Otten C (CRES), Perroud P (WU), Pils B (Würzburg U.), Prigge M (GU), Quatrano RS (WU), Reiss B (MPI),
Rensing S (UF), Reski R (UF), Romanov MN (CRES), Rombauts S (GU), Rushton PJ (UV), Ryder OA (CRES), Sakakibara K (MU),
Salamov A (JGI), Sanderfoot A (UM), Schween G (UF), Shapiro H (JGI), Shin-I T (KU), Shiu S (MSU), Specht CD (UCB), Starkey, S
(UCB), Stremel Mork EM (CRES), Stueber K (MPI), Sugano S (UT), Suzuki Y (UT), Tanahashi T (NIBB), Terry A (JGI), Theodoulou FL
(RR), Toyoda A (RIKEN), Tu H (JGI), Tuttle EM (ISU), Van de Peer Y (GU), Verrier PJ (RR), Walters G (MBG), Waters E (SDSU),
Wood A (SIU), Yamaguchi K (KU), Yang L (UG), Zimmer A (UF).
Graduate Advisors: Chelsea D. Specht (UCB), Tom Bruns (UCB), Rasmus Nielson (UCB)