Professor Madelaine Bartlett
- Research Professor
- Research Group Leader
- Associate member of the Department of Plant Sciences
Contact
Location
- Sainsbury Laboratory
- 47 Bateman Street, Cambridge, CB2 1LR
About
I am a Group Leader at the Sainsbury Laboratory and an Associate Member of the Department of Plant Sciences, both within the University of Cambridge. I joined Cambridge in 2024 following a decade at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I progressed from Assistant to Associate to full Professor.
I completed my postdoctoral research at Brigham Young University with Professor Clinton Whipple (2010–2013), focusing on plant developmental genetics, and earned my PhD in Plant Biology from the University of California, Berkeley (2005–2010) under the supervision of Professor Chelsea Specht. My research explores the evolution and development of plant form, integrating molecular genetics, evolutionary biology, and comparative developmental approaches.
Between 2021 and 2025, I received several honours recognising my contributions to research and academia, including the Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award from the UMass College of Natural Sciences in 2023, and the M. Rhoades Early-Career Maize Genetics Award from the Maize Genetics Cooperation in 2022.
Research
Research interests
- Pant developmental evolution
- Floral morphology and genetics
- Conserved gene function
- Cop engineering and synthetic biology
- Molecular and comparative plant biology
Understanding the diversity of plant form
I investigate how conserved developmental genes generate the extraordinary diversity of plant form. My work focuses on uncovering the molecular mechanisms that drive morphological evolution—particularly in flowers, the source of all fruits and grains—and on applying these insights to enable more predictable, knowledge-guided crop engineering. By integrating evolutionary biology, molecular genetics, and comparative development, my research connects genetic change to morphological innovation and explores principles that can shape future plant design.
Discoveries in gene function and evolution
My lab has revealed surprising roles for deeply conserved genes in the evolution of floral structures, including independent recruitment of leaf-patterning genes in awn development and new functions for axillary meristem regulators in maize unisexual flowers. My group has also advanced understanding of molecular evolution, showing that domains of key developmental receptor-like kinases evolve modularly and contributing to the discovery of thousands of ancient conserved non-coding sequences (CNSs). Editing these CNSs has demonstrated strong impacts on yield traits and developmental processes, offering powerful tools for guiding crop evolution and synthetic biology.
Broader perspectives in plant science
My work also engages with the cultural context of plant science, including collaborations on the history of research on plant sex and on the societal dimensions of genome editing.
From fundamental insights to future crops
I am using grasses as a model to uncover the molecular changes that shaped plant form and to test how these changes alter development. Working closely with collaborators at the Sainsbury Laboratory, my research group aims to translate evolutionary principles into strategies for rewiring and improving plants for the future.