- PhD‐MPS Student
- Advisor: Cynthia Gleason
Biography
- Degree Sought: Ph. D. in Molecular Plant Sciences
- Advisor: Dr. Cynthia Gleason
- Matriculation Year: 2022 (Spring)
- Hometown: Chiba, Japan
- Academic Background: MPhil. Univ. of Cambridge. B.S. Penn State Univ.
Research Focus
1: Transcriptome analysis of root-knot nematode trap crop, Litchi tomato.
2: Engineering Bacillus subtilis that can secrete the plant immunostimulant to boost plant immunity against root-knot nematodes.
What are your hobbies?
I love outdoor activities, like Tennis and hiking. I want to explore every US national park! The best one I have visited now is Glacier national park. I also enjoy playing Nintendo Games. And play with our cat, Milk!
What is something interesting most people don’t know about you?
When I was three, I moved to China with my parents and lived there for 15 years. I always fail my English test in middle school until I saw a great opportunity of studying plant sciences in the US. To pursue my goal of being a plant scientist, I studied English hard and finally got accepted by one of my dream colleges. ( my middle school teacher will be surprised if he knows I’m studying in the US now)
My research journey?
When I was at Penn State, I learned from a college newsletter that parasitic plants can steal host genes and use them as their own weapon to fight agent host immunity. Surprised by this, I started an independent project studying horizontal gene transfer between plants and parasites.After graduating, I was invited to continue my research in the UK, where I first met plant parasitic nematodes. This “mighty” little creature not only can steal genes from others but also can alter the host cells to benefit itself. When I went deep into nematode research, I was fascinated by Cynthia’s story of using engineered Bacillus to control nematodes and joined WSU to further explore the mystery behind plant-pathogen interaction.