Meet Lei Lei, an associate editor at Nature Plants since September 2016. On campus for the 2017 Plant Genomes & Biotechnology: From Genes to Networks meeting, Lei and other fellow meeting-goers celebrate the great progress the plant science field has made over the last two decades while they also discuss upcoming and exciting advances in plant genomes and biotechnology. Lei obtained her Ph.D. degree in Plant Biology from the Pennsylvania State University. Her previous research covers the regulatory mechanisms of cellulose biosynthesis, microtubule organization and embryo development in plants. As a member of the editorial team of Nature Plants, Lei handles manuscripts regarding plant metabolism, physiology, cell biology and ecology. She is based in the New York office of Springer Nature.

What areas of plant research is your journal most interested in?
Nature Plants covers the full range of disciplines concerned with plants. More details about the aims and scope can be found here.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting?
There is already so much fantastic progress achieved in crop breeding and metabolic engineering, while more incredibly novel approaches and applications are oncoming.

How many CSHL meetings and/or courses have you attended? Will you be attending any other near future CSHL courses and/or meetings?
This is my first one. I will be looking forward to any future CSHL meetings related to plant sciences.

Was there something specific about this meeting that drew you to attend?
I am particularly interested in some topics covered in the meeting like Metabolism, Biotechnology, Biodiversity. I also received a kind invitation from Ullas Pedmale a few months ago that helped me make up my mind.

If someone (for example, another editor) is curious in attending this meeting were to ask you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
I would strongly recommend it. CSHL is so close to our office and we have plenty of travel options. Prior to the event, the digital meeting package (including maps, parking permit, train info, shuttle schedule, and registration details etc.) is super helpful to schedule my travel plan. The meeting itself is perfectly sized and very well-organized. No need to emphasize more on the fascinating science talks and discussions in the meeting, I would say that CSHL is like a science camp that anyone who has deep love in science (not only plant science) should come and see.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL? 
The campus is scenic and historical. Living and dining on the beautiful campus made it an excellent time to make new friends :)

Thank you to Lei for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured scientists - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course - go here.