Ph.D. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles

Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley

Ph.D., Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Seoul National University, Korea

Postdoctoral Scholar, Department of Biology, Stanford University
Korea Science and Engineering Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow

I am interested in elucidating the biochemical function of type III seceretion effector proteins in Xanthomonas spp. Specifically, my work focuses on the mechanisms by which the XopD and XopN effectors suppress innate immune signaling in tomato during Xanthomonas pathogenesis.

B.S., Biochemistry and Mathematics,,Gyeongsang National University, Korea

M.S., Biochemistry, Gyeongsang National University, Korea

Ph.D., Plant Molecular Biology/Biotechnology, Purdue University and Gyeongsang National University, Korea

I am interested in determining how the Xanthomonas T3S effector AvrBsT activates effector-triggered immunity and lipid signaling during infection in Arabidopsis. I have discovered that AvrBsT possesses acetyltransferase activity and targets a novel microtubule-associated protein, ACIP1. My current goals are to determine how AvrBsT interferes with microbtuble dynamics during infection and to elucidate how ACIP1 functions during innate immune signaling using Arabidopsis as the model plant system.

Ph.D., Genetics, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany

Postdoctoral Scholar, Plant-Microbe Interactions, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Germany

Leopoldina Postdoctoral Research Fellow, 2012 - present

Plants harbor an innate immunity to defend against pathogen attacks. Successful pathogens have evolved strategies to circumvent the host immune system. One of these mechanisms relies on the function of the Xanthomonas campestris effector XopN. This effector targets the tomato atypical receptor kinase TARK1 to inhibit PAMP-triggered immune responses during Xanthomonas infection. My aim is to elucidate the TARK1-dependent signaling cascade and to define the molecular mechanism by which the bacterial effector XopN interferes with the defense signaling events during the early stages of infection.

A.B. Dartmouth College

I am broadly interested in the defensive strategies that plants employ to protect themselves from pathogens, the cellular signaling networks that regulate plant defenses, and the trade-offs that plants face when trying to maximize fitness while dealing with stress. By studying how bacterial type III secretion effectors promote disease during infection and identifying effector targets in the host, I hope to uncover fundamental patterns underlying immune signaling networks in plants.

Associate Professor, Nanjing Agricultural University, China

Research in my laboratory is focused on the biological control of plant diseases and induced plant resistance by rhizobacteria and molecular-associated moleculars patterns (MAMPs). I am also interested in how Xanthomonas species emply type III effector proteins to supress plant immunity . I am currently working on the regulation of TARK1 stability in tomato during Xanthomonas infection.