I am Jianqiang Shen, a first year postdoc in plant and microbial biology at Cal, where I started last August. While working with my principal investigator, Dr. Peggy Lemaux, and other lab folks every day, I enjoy the supportive and innovative atmosphere in the lab. We focus on plant translational biology, which involves the transformation of sorghum, an important bioenergy crop, and studying the gene functions involved in that plant’s ability to cope with drought. In collaboration with microbiologists and data scientists, we are investigating the dynamic changes in the genes that are expressed in sorghum under pre- and post-flowering drought. Specifically, I am generating new tools to do genome editing in sorghum to improve its ability to deal with drought, making agriculture better able to deal with climate change.
“Tell Us Your Story” submission by Jianqiang Shen.
