Self-organizing researcher networks in he plant sciences

Societal Impact Statement The next generation of plant scientists must have expertise in a broad range of fields and experimental approaches to overcome the grand challenges of the 21st century. Plant science will play a role in addressing these challenges, for example, our plant scientists must contribute to diverse areas, from plant breeding to ensure robust and resilient crops; to large-scale climate modeling in response to climate change events. Small international networks led by early career scientists can help facilitate the progression of such individuals to leadership roles in the plant sciences and thus can help nurture our next generation of scientific pioneers.