Dr. Daniel K. Gladish, Professor of Botany and Director of The Conservatory
Dr. Dan Gladish was born and raised in Southern California. He graduated from San Gorgonio High School in San Bernardino, CA, then moved to North Hollywood. He studied music briefly at Long Beach State University in Long Beach, CA.
Prior to becoming a botanist Dan had careers unrelated to science. He spent 15 years as an entertainer, performing college concerts, nightclub and casino shows, and on TV. He played electric bass guitar, guitar, and trumpet; he sang, performed comedy, and was a master of ceremonies for The Rising Generation, Randy Sparks and The Back Porch Majority, The Bright Angel Band, and Terra Nova. He recorded four albums and contributed to three movie soundtracks produced by Walt Disney Studios. While with The Back Porch Majority he moved to Linden in Northern California where the band opened a nightclub called "Lloyd's of Linden."
When he decided to leave the music business, Dan worked for seven years as a farm hand, carpenter, and semi-truck driver (he logged over a million accident-free miles) while saving to return to college. He continued to drive semi-trucks on weekends and summers while an undergrad at the University of California at Davis, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany.
As a graduate student, Dan served four years as a Teaching Assistant in the Department of Botany (now the Section of Plant Biology) at the University of California at Davis. He taught general botany, plant anatomy, and plant physiology laboratory classes. In addition to his dissertation research on the effects of temperature on root development, he did research on the modes of action of several herbicides and on the correlation of anatomical structure and performance quality in clarinet reeds. Just prior to completing his Ph. D. degree in plant biology, he moved to Hamilton, Ohio, to join the faculty of the Miami University Department of Botany.
As of 2011 Dan has 17 years experience teaching full time for the Miami University Department of Botany mainly at the Hamilton campus. He has taught Plant Biology (Bot 191) with an inquiry-based laboratory, Ecology of North America (Bot 171), Plants, Humanity, and the Environment (Bot 131), Cell and Molecular Biology (Bot 203, Zoo 203) and the lab (Bot 203L), and a seminar course with Prof. Bekka Eaton-Reardon on the concept of communities (BIS 301). Several Hamilton undergrads have completed independent study and independent research projects under his supervision. He co-advised a master's degree student who did work in restoration ecology. With a doctoral student and two masters students, Dan has been focusing on research in programmed cell death in plant roots. At The Conservatory, a living museum of exotic and Ohio native plants at the Hamilton Campus, Dan is supervising a program for 4th grade children in cooperation with the Hamilton City Schools.
He also plays electric bass, sings, and writes music for The Albrecht Music Venture.
Doctoral Dissertation: "The effects of temperature on the growth kinetics, morphology, anatomy, and physiology of pea (Pisum sativum L.) roots."
Current research projects
- The evaluation of newly discovered ultrastructural anomalies in root meristems of Zea mays var. amylacea.
- The effects of flooding on root systems of cool season legumes with an emphasis on the role of programmed cell death and its biochemical pathways and molecular regulation.
- A long-term study of secondary ecological succession at field sites with similar soil and environmental qualities, but different histories, the Miami University-Hamilton campus. This project involves undergraduates heavily.
- Management of a restored tallgrass prairie on an old landfill site at Hamilton Campus.
Past research projects
- Effects of chlorsulfuron and imidazolinone herbicides on roots of garden pea (DuPont Corp.).
- Mobility in soil of Metolachlor, a soil-based herbicide (for the University of California Extension Service and Syngenta).
- Phytotoxic side-effects of Lorsban insecticide on almond trees in N. California (for Seiferman Farms, litigants against Dow Chemical Corp.).
- The correlation of anatomy and playing qualities in performance-rated clarinet reeds (for R.J. Maier Products, Inc.).
- Effects of temperature on the development of root meristems, including the primary meristem and lateral root initiation.
Publications
Rost, Thomas L.; Daniel Gladish, Jody Steffen, and James Robbins (1990); "Is there a relationship between branched amino acid pool size and cell cycle inhibition in roots treated with imidazolinone herbicides?" Journal of Plant Growth Regulation 9:227-232.
Lu, Pengzhe; Daniel Gladish, and Thomas Rost (1991); "Temperature induced cavities and specialized parenchyma cells in the vascular cylinder of pea roots." American Journal of Botany 78:729-739.
Rost, Thomas L.; Pengzhe Lu, and Daniel Gladish (1991); "The occurrence of vascular cavities and specialized parenchyma cells in the roots of cool-season legumes." Botanica Acta 104:300-305.
Gladish, Daniel K. and Thomas L. Rost (1993); "The effects of temperature on primary root growth dynamics and lateral root distribution in garden pea (Pisum sativum L., cv. "Alaska"). Environmental and Experimental Botany 33:243-258.
Niki, Teruo; Daniel K. Gladish, Pengzhe Lu, and Thomas L. Rost (1995). "Cellular changes precede cavity formation in the vascular cylinders of pea roots (Pisum sativum L., cv. Alaska)" International Journal of Plant Sciences 156:290-302.
Niki, Teruo; Daniel K. Gladish, and Takashi Kaji (1997). Histological studies of root tissue (Pisum sativum cv Alaska) in which cavities occur and do not occur. Takushoku Bulletin of Science and Engineering 6:53-56.
Niki, Teruo; Thomas L. Rost, and Daniel K. Gladish (1998). "Regeneration of tissue following cavity formation in the vascular cylinders of pea roots (Pisum sativum L., cv. Alaska)." American Journal of Botany 85:17-24.
Niki, Teruo, Daniel K. Gladish, and Takashi Kaji (1998)."The effect of flooding on the growth and location of vascular cavities of pea roots (Pisum sativum cv. Alaska)". Takushoku Bulletin of Science and Engineering 6:37-40.
Roychoudhury, Anita and Daniel K. Gladish (1998). "How plants work: guided inquiry in a classroom". Science Scope (National Science Teachers Association, publ.) 22:14-18.
Niki, Teruo, Daniel K. Gladish, and Takashi Kaji (1999). "Changes in growth and structure in pea primary roots (Pisum sativum cv. Alaska) as a result of flooding." Takushoku Bulletin of Science and Engineering 7:73-78.
Gladish, Dan (1999). "Music from plants". Dragonfly (National Science Teachers Association, publ.) 3:18-20.
Gladish, Daniel K., and Teruo Niki (1999). Factors inducing cavity formation in the vascular cylinders of pea roots (Pisum sativum L., cv. Alaska ). Environmental and Experimental Botany 43:1-9.
Gladish, Daniel K., Ellen G. Sutter and Thomas L. Rost (2000). The role of free IAA levels, IAA transport, and sucrose transport in the high temperature inhibition of root system development in pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. Alaska). Journal of Plant Growth Regulation 19:347-358.
Niki, Teruo and Daniel K. Gladish (2001). Changes in growth and structure of pea primary roots (Pisum sativum L. cv. Alaska) as a result of sudden flooding. Plant and Cell Physiology 42:694-702.
Niki, Teruo, Mituo Takahashi, and D.K.Gladish (2004). Generator of low oxygen concentration air and growth tube for exposing plants to low oxygen concentration. Takushoku Bulletin of Science and Engineering 9:113-114.
Gladish, Daniel K., and Teruo Niki (2006). Apoptosis-like programmed cell death occurs in procambium and ground meristem of pea (Pisum sativum L.) root tips exposed to sudden flooding. Annals of Botany 97:895-902.
Sarkar, Purbasha, Teruo Niki, and Daniel K. Gladish (2008). Changes in cellular ultrastructure induced by sudden flooding at 25° C in Pisum sativum (Fabaceae) primary roots". American Journal of Botany 95:782–792.
Gladish, Daniel K., and Teruo Niki (2008). Ethylene is involved in vascular cavity formation in pea (Pisum sativum) primary roots. Plant Root 2:38-45.
Niki Teruo, Mitsuo Takahashi, Daniel K. Gladish (2011). Comparison of the effects of flooding vs. low-oxygen gas on pea (Pisum sativum L. cv. ‘Alaska’) primary roots. Plant Root 5:31-39.
Professional affiliations and memberships
American Society of Plant Biologists
Botanical Society of America
International Society for Plant Anaerobiosis
Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists
Scandinavian Society for Plant Physiology
National Center for Science Education
Sigma Xi
