Plant development and evolution
Cell and Developmental Biology; Cell-Cell Signaling; Gamete Biology and Plant Fertilization
Structure and biosynthesis of the plant cell wall; gene discovery in cell wall biology; improvement of grasses as lignocellulosic bioenergy crops
Biochemistry and molecular biology of plant secondary metabolism
Plant disease resistance; regulation of gene expression and signal transduction during plant defense responses to microbial pathogens
Plant-insect chemical ecology, biochemical spectroscopy, ecosystem ecology.
The genetic basis of reproductive barriers and molecular mechanisms of plant adaptation. Cost effective integration of genomics for comparative and forward genetics research approaches.
plant primary and secondary metabolism
Mechanism of the transfer to and expression of the Agrobacterium tumefaciens Ti-plasmid in plant cells
Signal transduction, Transcription and gene regulation, High temperature stress, Growth factors/hormones/polyamines, Plant growth and development, Senescence, Phytonutrients, Fruit quality and postharvest shelf life
Root-Microbe Interactions and Root Development
Signaling in Pollination; Developmental Genetics; Cell Biology
Epigenetic regulation of transposable elements
Functional genomics; Epigenomics; Histone modification; Environmental responses; Systems Biology; Plant Genetics
Comparative, Evolutionary, and Translational Genomics
Plant extracellular matrix and cell differentiation
Plant-Biotic interactions. Community ecology. Evolutionary Game theory.
Genetic mechanisms of tree growth
Molecular Genetics of Plant Immunity - with emphasis on host defense response to necrotrophic fungi
Water use efficiency, plant nutrition, crop physiology
Ecological and evolutionary genetics: adaptation and adaptive traits (especially freezing tolerance and flowering time); heterosis; plant mating system evolution.
Regulation of cell identity, signal transduction, chromatin remodeling
Genetic and molecular control of photosynthetic light utilization
Cytoskeletal function during plant and fungal development and in response to environmental signals
Cell signaling and morphogenesis in the leaf epidermis
The lab is interested in plant transcriptional responses to environmental stimuli. Particularly, our interest is in the gene networks governing transcriptional responses and how these networks are altered when plants adapt to their environment.
Maize genetics, genomics, value-added traits
Plant natural product metabolism
Evolution of eukaryotic chemodiversity using genomics, network biology, and phylogenetics
Phytohormone ethylene biosynthesis and its signaling pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana
Plant endomembrane trafficking; chemical biology
Research Area: Plant stem cells, transcriptional signaling in plant development, cell-cell communication, live imaging, quantitative developmental biology Active Mentor - currently hosting PULSe students for laboratory rotations and recruiting PULSe students into the laboratory; serves on preliminary exam committees
Our lab is interested in the molecular mechanisms underlying plant responses to harsh environments such as soil salinity, drought and cold temperatures. In addition, we are interested in the mechanisms of transcriptional gene silencing and in the role of epigenetic gene regulation in stress adaptation.
