Celebrating 43 years of interdisciplinary teaching, mentoring and research impact on plant microbial ecology

Elizabeth “Betsy” Pierson, Ph.D., senior professor and associate department head for undergraduate programs in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Horticultural Sciences, began her 43-year career like many of her students – with a keen interest in science and a desire to make a meaningful difference in the world.

Research and collaboration with colleagues across disciplines set the course for a rewarding career filled with exciting discoveries as well as teaching and mentoring students and faculty. It has been challenging at times, but it has always been fun, Pierson said.

At the end of this semester, she will retire, completing an academic journey as an interdisciplinary researcher and teacher whose innovative research has impacted biology, ecology, plant pathology and horticulture.

Interdisciplinary research and collaboration

Throughout her career, Pierson’s research has spanned multiple disciplines, reflecting her diverse interests, mindset and skills. She has contributed new perspectives and expanded the research of colleagues.

“I’ve found that applying what you know to a problem outside your discipline is the best way to come up with a novel approach to solving that problem,” Pierson said.

After earning a bachelor’s in biology at Indiana University, she began studies in plant ecology at Washington State University. After completing her doctoral work on invasive plant species, her expertise in ecology and statistics led to being hired to conduct field research to test the success of introducing plant-beneficial bacteria for biological control applications. This research initiated her career interest in sustainable food production, she said.

Her postdoctoral research for the U.S. Department of Agriculture also led to her career and life’s most successful interdisciplinary partnership. She worked as a microbial ecologist on a project with “one of the country’s smartest, most talented young bacterial geneticists,” Pierson said. She subsequently married that brilliant bacterial geneticist, Leland “Sandy” Pierson.

After they moved to Tucson, she worked for the U.S. Geological Survey, where she conducted field research on the ecology of keystone desert species and desert ecosystem health. She also published an 85-year field study initiated by researchers in 1908.

At the University of Arizona, she established a collaborative research program with Sandy Pierson that led to discoveries in plant pathology related to plant-microbe interactions. Their work with other investigators produced the first genome sequences of biological control agent models, making studying those systems’ comparative genomics possible. She said they used their model system to train many graduate and undergraduate students who have accomplished exciting advancements in their own research.

Make the best of your opportunities

In 2009, the Pierson family found new opportunities and challenges in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Both would thrive as researchers, teachers and leaders in their departments and within Texas A&M AgriLife. They also raised their two sons, who became Aggies, Ian ’20 ’23 and Chris ’22.

Sandy Pierson served as head of the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology from 2009 to 2022 and then as interim associate director and chief scientific officer for Texas A&M AgriLife Research until his retirement in December 2023.

Betsy Pierson has served in the Department of Horticultural Sciences as associate professor, professor, senior professor and associate department head for undergraduate programs. She is also an adjunct senior professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology and a member of the intercollegiate faculty of Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences. She is grateful for the access to interdisciplinary colleagues and graduate students afforded by being a member of these programs.

At Texas A&M, Betsy Pierson’s research focused on microbial activities contributing to improved plant health and stress tolerance. She began her teaching program by developing the interdisciplinary graduate course, Plant-Associated Microorganisms, to introduce the importance of plant-beneficial microorganisms to students across the campus in fields such as horticulture, soil and crop sciences, entomology, ecology, plant pathology and even engineering.

She also updated Garden Science, an undergraduate horticulture course for nonmajors that is relevant to nonagriculture majors, including engineers, business majors, geologists or any student interested in learning more about horticulture.

“My department couldn’t have given me a better present,” Pierson said. “Not only do students learn basics like how to grow tomatoes, they also get a huge dose of agriculture literacy. They learn about agriculture from a grower’s perspective, why they should care about who is growing their food and what tools producers need to get the job done.”

In 2022, Pierson began serving as the associate department head for the Department of Horticultural Sciences. The position allowed her to pursue several areas she really enjoys: mentoring new faculty members and guiding the curriculum to ensure the department continues to move forward. The best part is helping students discover horticulture and use their expertise to have careers that enrich their lives and the world around them, she said.

Getting to the ‘roots’ of educating students and industry professionals

Through her research on plant-microbe interactions, Pierson realized the need for more knowledge about root systems and how the root-dwelling microbial community makes a plant more productive and resistant to drought stress or pathogens.

“I worked with colleagues to develop the graduate course Root Biology so plant breeders, soil biologists, plant microbiologists and plant pathologists can understand the plant root as a diverse organ system capable of responding and adapting to plant stress,” Pierson said.

Graduate students in both graduate classes write grant proposals on plant-microbe interactions or root biology related to their dissertation work. Many students have used their projects for this class as a chapter in their dissertation. It is rewarding to see them catch fire on these topics and spread their enthusiasm to their own lab groups, Pierson said.

She also organized a workshop on root biology for the 2019 American Phytopathological Society annual meeting, “bringing root system biologists and plant pathologists together to gain a whole ecosystem perspective on how microbes and root systems interact,” she said.

‘If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.’

Pierson said she is very fortunate and grateful to have had the outstanding research and teaching career she has had at Texas A&M. She sees it as the culmination of all the interdisciplinary opportunities, colleagues and students who helped her broaden her expertise and strengthen the knowledge base of multiple disciplines.

“I’m so glad I found a home in the Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences,” she said.

Pierson encourages others to “make the most of your opportunities.”

Her students can repeat her motto she says whenever they face an exam, give a talk or prepare a defense: “If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.”

Throughout her career, she has followed that philosophy.

“You need to have fun and share your passion with everyone else,” Pierson said. “That’s how you make a difference, and that’s my message. When people ask me if I know exactly what I’m going to do in retirement, I say, ‘I don’t know, but I know I’m going to have fun.’”