The Division congratulates Shawn Thomas on being selected as a mentee for the Bayer Crop Science University Mentoring Program. He is one of six awardees out of over 275 applications received for this program and will join a cohort with 22 other universities in North Americas.

According to its LinkedIn site, "the Bayer University Mentoring Program is a global 1:1 mentoring program to engage university partners, and contribute to the development of next generation of scientists by offering participating students with soft skill coaching and career development advice, and to build a long term relationship with our partners to deliver joint mission of 'Health for All. Hunger for None.'"

Thomas is a Ph.D. candidate in the Division. His dissertation research focuses on understanding evolutionary relationships in the tribe Brassiceae and the role of ancient polyploidy for abiotic stress tolerance. His work is also contributing to several genome projects as part of the DOE JGI Brassicales Genome Initiative, including leading the construction of the Moringa oleifera genome. Thomas is co-mentored by Drs. Jacob Washburn and J. Chris Pires.

In 2020, Thomas was selected as a Bayer Diversity Initiative Scholar.