ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ

Personal Quote

Eric Brenner is an Associate Professor in the Biology Department. He completed his B.S. in both botany and agronomy at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and earned his Ph.D. in Plant Molecular Biology at The University of California, Davis, and postdoctoral studies at New York University. He was an assistant Curator at The New York Botanical Garden and then an Assistant Clinical Professor at New York University.

Faculty Bio

Dr. Eric D. Brenner is a professor of biology with expertise in various areas of plant science, including pathogen resistance, population biology, signaling, and evolution. Currently, he is studying complex plant behaviors and has developed the software Plant Tracer (planttracer.com), which tracks and characterizes plant movement from time-lapse movies. Plant Tracer is used for both research and teaching at universities, high schools, and middle schools. He is a co-founder of the Society for Plant Signaling and Behavior and is currently conducting research to better understand how plants integrate complex signals to direct their behavior. Dr. BrennerÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ™s work has been featured in periodicals such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Science Magazine. Additionally, he serves as a consultant on the presentation of science in the arts, including films and popular books. Dr. Brenner is actively working in the Lower East Side of New York City to inspire students from low-income backgrounds to pursue careers in science by revealing and studying the dynamic movements of plants. He earned his undergraduate degree in both botany and agronomy at the University of WisconsinÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ“Madison, followed by a Ph.D. in plant molecular biology at the University of California, Davis. He later became an Assistant Curator at The New York Botanical Garden, where he helped establish the Genomics Department and served as the project manager for the New York Plant Genomics Consortium. He then worked as an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Biology Department at New York University, teaching undergraduate students before joining ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ.

PhD, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA
Plant Molecular Biology

Grants, Sponsored Research and Contracts

Electrical Signaling in Arabidopsis
Brenner, E. & Harper, H. 2009. Bawd foundation. .

Plant Tracer, a learning App to quantify plant movement
Brenner, E. D. 2024 - 2026. Pace Bridge Research Fund, ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ. Funded.

The Development of Circumnutation
Brenner, E. 2022 - 2023. Pace Scholarly Research Fund, ÄÐÅ®²Ù±ÆÊÓƵÈí¼þ. Funded.

Plant Tracer: an App to quantify plant movement in the POB Lab
Brenner, E. D. & Wang, Y. June 2017 - May 2018. NYU Curricular Development Challenge Fund. .

The Genetics of Root Gravitropism: Converting Plant Time into Lapse Time
Brenner, E. October 2014 - September 2015. NYU Curricular Development Challenge Fund. .

The Use of Next Generation Sequencing Technology as a Tool in the Class Room
Brenner, E., Carton, J., Siegal, M. & Katari, M. October 2013 - September 2014. NYU Curricular Development Challenge Fund. .

Gymnosperm genomics: the evolution of seeds
Coruzzi, G., Stevenson, D., McCombie, A., Martiennsen, R., Sasha, D. & Brenner, E. D. October 2004 - September 2009. National Science Foundation. .

Genetic structure of Cycas micronesica
Marler, T. & Brenner, E. D. September 2006 - August 2009. USDA. Funded.

Advancing Comparative Functional Genomics
Leebens-Mack, J. & Brenner, E. September 2006 - August 2008. National Science Foundation -Funded NESCent Catalysis Meetings. Funded.

Plant Genomics at The New York Botanical Garden
Stevenson, D. & Brenner, E. September 2002 - August 2005. Ambrose Monell Foundation. Funded.

Study of Cycads and Guam Dementia
Stevenson, D. & Brenner, E. September 2001 - August 2004. Leon Lowenstein Foundation. .

NIH Individual Postdoctoral Fellowship
Brenner, E. September 2000 - August 2002. National Institute of Health. .

Past Courses

BIO 101: General Biology I
BIO 102: General Biology II
BIO 210: Ecology
BIO 221: Botany
BIO 222: Plants and People
BIO 231: Genetics
BIO 335: Molecular & Cellular Biology
BIO 395: Independent Study in Biology
BIO 396: Guided Study in Biology
BIO 399: Topic: Plants and People
BIO 480: Research in Biology
BIO 481: Research in Biology II
BIO 490: Intro to Rsrch in Biolgcl Sci
BIO 491: Internship in Biology
BIO 492: Internship in Biology II
CHE 480: Research in Chemistry
ENS 486: Rsrch in Envrnmntl Sci
ENV 221: Envrmntl Sci: Web of Life
ENV 395: Independent Study
UNV 101: First-Year Smnr Unvrsty Cmmnty

Presentations

Revealing the Plant Movement Meatspace
Brenner, E. D. (2024). Rutgers University, Newark,

Exploring the Plant Movement Metaverse
Brenner, E. (2024). Hofstra University,

Using Plant Tracer to Track the Plant Movement Metaverse
Brenner, E. D. (2024). International Plant Molecular Biology Conference. International Society for Plant Molecular Biology,

Communication of Our Science Through Plant Tracer
Brenner, E. D. (2023). International Plant Signaling and Behavior Meeting. Society for Plant Signaling and Behavior,

Plant Tracer: A smart phone app to track and quantify plant movement from time-lapse movies
Brenner, E. D. (2023). Biology Leadership Conference. Pearson Publishers,

Plant Tracer: A Smart Phone App to Track and Quantify Plant Movement from Time-Lapse Movies
Brenner, E. D. (2022). Botanical Society of America. Botanical Society of America,

Plant Tracer: An App to quantify plant movement and induce plant interest from time-lapse videos
Brenner, E. (2022). NSF-IUSE Summit. NSF,

Introducing Plant Tracer
Brenner, E. D. (2019). American Society of Plant Bioilogy. American Society of Plant Biology,

Beyond Paper: The Dynamic Plant
Brenner, E. D. (2019). The American Chemical Society Regional Meeting. The American Chemical Society,

Plant Tracer Reveals Plant Dynamic Qualities in the Biology Teaching Lab
Brenner, E. D. (2019). Eastern Science College Conference. Manhattan College, NY.

A crowd source teaching method to understand the dynamic qualities of plant movement
Brenner, E. (2018). Metropolitan Association of College and University Biologists. Queens, NY.

A crowd source teaching method to understand the dynamic qualities of plant movement
Brenner, E. D. (2018). ACUBE. Association of College and University Biology Educators, 62nd Annual Meeting,

Plant Tracer: An App to quantify plant movement and induce plant interest from time-lapse videos
Brenner, E. (2018). American Society of Plant Biology Annual Meeting. American Society of Plant Biology,

Plant Tracer: A mobile App to Track Plant Movement
Brenner, E. (2018). International Conference on Arabidopsis Research. Turku, Finland.

The Art and Science of Plant Dynamics
Brenner, E. D. & Blum, N. (2017). A Conversation with Nancy Blum and Dr. Eric Brenner, moderated by Ashley Kistler. Ginter Botanical Garden,

Brenner, E. (2017). Seminar Series. Virginia Commonwealth University,

Professional Service

Sloan Foundation [Editor, Textbook]