UF plant biologist Anna-Lisa Paul receives SURA’s Distinguished Scientist Award
University of Florida plant molecular biologist Anna-Lisa Paul has been named a recipient of the Southeastern Universities Research Association’s (SURA) 2025 Distinguished Scientist Award, recognizing her groundbreaking contributions to space biology and her leadership in advancing scientific exploration beyond Earth.
Paul is the director of UF’s Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research (ICBR), and a research professor in UF’s Department of Horticultural Sciences where she co-leads the UF Space Plants Lab with colleague Rob Ferl. Together, they and their team investigate how plants respond to the unique stresses of orbital spaceflight and other novel exploration environments. Their research includes using the International Space Station to study transcriptomic and epigenetic responses to living in space, using suborbital launch vehicles to study molecular processes during the transition to space, and growing plants in lunar regolith to explore the feasibility of sustained outposts on the Moon.
Paul served as the principal investigator on a NASA-funded experiment that resulted in the first evidence of epigenetic change in plants in response to growth in the spaceflight environment. These groundbreaking results opened the door for a second NASA grant to Paul and Ferl to conduct a multigenerational plant experiment on the ISS to study epigenetic change.
Paul was the co-principal investigator on NASA’s first grant awarded for human-tended research in suborbital vehicles. The grant was awarded to Ferl and Paul in 2018 and came to fruition in 2024 when Ferl became the first university researcher to conduct their own experiment in space and qualify as an astronaut. Paul managed the ground-based control experiments from Blue Origin’s launch site in Texas.
In 2022, Paul and Ferl were the first to successfully grow plants in lunar regolith collected during the Apollo missions. Their research demonstrated that terrestrial plants could grow in soil created from materials readily available to a lunar outpost, which is a crucial step in understanding how in situ resources could support human exploration on the moon and, eventually, Mars.
Paul’s research also extends to Earth’s most extreme environments. She has conducted experiments in Antarctica, where she and Ferl tested space agriculture systems in a containerized greenhouse that served as a terrestrial analog for space. Paul has also conducted research on Devon Island, just a few hundred miles from the North Pole, simulating Martian farming techniques in a specially modified structure designed to withstand the severe climate.
Reflecting on her work, Paul said, “My fundamental belief is that humans are explorers, and when we leave Earth’s orbit, plants will help us make the journey.”
Paul serves on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space and as co-chair of a NASEM panel developing a science strategy for the human exploration of Mars. She is a recipient of the NASA Medal of Honor for Exceptional Scientific Achievement, and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research.
“Dr. Paul’s work exemplifies the spirit of exploration and scientific excellence,” said David Norton, UF’s vice president for research. “Her research is helping shape the future of human spaceflight and the role of plants in sustaining life beyond Earth.”
Four other UF faculty have been recognized with the SURA Distinguished Scientist Award since it was inaugurated in 2007: diabetes Eminent Scholar Mark Atkinson in 2022, plant evolution Distinguished Professor Pam Soltis in 2018, former College of Pharmacy Dean Julie Johnson in 2015, and microbiology Distinguished Professor Lonnie Ingram in 2008.
Joining Paul as a recipient this year is Hans-Conrad zur Loye of the University of South Carolina, a leader in solid-state inorganic chemistry and crystal growth.
SURA is a consortium of 57 institutions whose mission is to “advance collaborative research and strengthen the scientific capabilities of its members and the nation.” The annual SURA Distinguished Scientist Award includes a $5,000 honorarium and will be formally presented at the SURA Board of Trustees meeting later this year.