Dior Kelley, assistant professor in genetics, development and cell biology, is the recipient of the faculty 2025 Early Achievement in Research Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University. She has achieved international recognition as a research innovator and leader in her field while providing high caliber mentorship, teaching and service.
Kelley’s pioneering research on hormonal control of plant development is generating innovative approaches to improve crop yield and enhance environmental stress tolerance. Her genetic studies on organ formation in Arabidopsis thaliana (related to canola and broccoli) and Zea mays (corn) have uncovered key drivers of root development and shoot height, which are critical for informing crop breeding strategies. Her research has gained national attention by The Associated Press and produced a United States Provisional Patent.
Kelley’s contributions to the scientific community extend beyond her primary research. She has been instrumental in generating large-scale, open-access datasets that have provided invaluable resources to the broader scientific community.
Kelley has received numerous invitations to present her results at local, national and international conferences, including Ireland, Croatia and Israel. She has served as a grant panel member for NSF and USDA, and has done ad hoc reviews for numerous European funding agencies, including the United Kingdom Research and Innovation Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, the European Research Council, the French National Research Agency, the German Research Foundation DFG program, and the Dutch Research Council Veni Grant Program. She is an elected member of the North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee, which coordinates research and outreach efforts for this key model organism across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Kelley’s passion for science and discovery has translated to her research team. One colleague stated, “This is an incredibly important and often overlooked challenge to establishing a research program, and Dr. Kelley has perfected it. In total, she has mentored or co-mentored seven graduate students. She also dedicates a significant amount of time to training undergraduate researchers and technicians, having trained 24 since she started at Iowa State. Dr. Kelley is the type of faculty member that instills excitement in junior scientists.”
Another colleague stated, “Dr. Kelley has established an impressive research program, with strong commitments to teaching and mentoring. She has proven that she can manage large federal accounts, mentor junior scientists, make important executive decisions regarding her laboratory’s research direction, as well as make impactful research contributions to her field.”