Chris Frost

Dr. Chris Frost is a faculty member at the University of Arizona’s BIO5 Institute, where he studies how plants communicate and adapt to stress, from insects to drought, through the invisible language of chemistry. His work explores how chemical signals shape resilience in plants, ecosystems, and even agriculture.

Before leading his own lab, Chris’s path wound through six states and multiple disciplines, from ecology and environmental education to teaching and mentorship. Today, he’s as passionate about helping students grow as he is about understanding how plants do the same. He mentors postdoctoral scholars, graduate students, undergraduates and high-school researchers (through programs like KEYS), encouraging them to find their own curiosity-driven path into science.

For Chris, growth is about more than biology: it’s about cultivating curiosity, resilience, and connection, whether in plants, people, or communities.