Jeffery received the Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from Talladega College, a small private college in Talladega, Alabama. During his summer’s as an undergraduate student, he was afforded the opportunity to engage in research at Purdue University. After graduating from Talladega College, he elected to attend graduate school at Purdue University and was awarded an NIH pre-doctoral fellowship. While in grad school, his research dealt with elucidating the signal transduction pathway by which cultured plant cells (Glycine max) respond to various elicitors of their defensive response. Pivotal to this pathway is the production of the active oxygen species hydrogen peroxide. After receiving his Ph.D., Jeffery worked to 8 years as a science teacher at Thomasville High School. During this time, he also served as an adjunct for Alabama Southern Community College and The University of West Alabama.

BY 231 Anatomy & Physiology 1
BY 234 Medical Terminology
BY 380 Genetics
BY 472 Cell Biology

Low, P.S. and Merida, J.R. (1996). The oxidative burst in plant defense: function and signal transduction [Review]. Physiol. Plant. 96: 533-542.

Davis, D.; Merida, J; Legendre, L.; Low, P.S. and Heinstein, P. (1993) Independent elicitation of the oxidative burst and phytoalexin formation in cultured plant cells. Phytochemistry 32: 607-611.

Merida, J.R.; Low, P.S. and Heinstein, P. (1992) Characterization of polygalacturonic acid elicitor that induces an oxidative burst in cultured plant cells. Plant Physiol. Supplement: 722:121.

Merida, Jeffery Ray (1998). The Induction of the Oxidative Burst by Oligogalacturonic Acid Elicitors. Ph.D. Thesis. Purdue University.