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Member Spotlights
At IS-MPMI , we are very proud of the interactions , friendships , and accomplishments among our more than 650 members . We are especially proud of the achievements and successes of our young members , post-docs and students , as they move through the scientific and professional ranks . IS-MPMI has a long and proud tradition of training the next generation of scientists to be at the leading edge of plant biology . On that note , we are pleased to introduce our Member Spotlights , highlighting the recent successes of our colleagues . Please join us in welcoming the first class of many in our newest feature .
Marc Libault is an assistant professor in the Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology at The University of Oklahoma ( OU ). Since 2005 , as a postdoctoral researcher with Gary Stacey at the University of Missouri , he has been working on the molecular response of a single soybean root cell type , the root hair cell , to its infection by a mutualistic symbiotic bacterium , Bradyrhizobium
Marc Libault japonicum . This plant – microbe symbiosis leads to the fixation and assimilation of atmospheric nitrogen by the symbiont for the plant . Based on his work , the soybean root hair cell is now considered an attractive single cell-type model to investigate plant response to bacterial infection . As a new faculty member at OU , Libault is using the soybean root hair cell to characterize the molecular function of transcription factors controlling the early stages of nodulation and to evaluate the impact of the root hair epigenome on gene expression in response to rhizobia infection .
Woo-Suk Chang recently joined the faculty at the University of Texas ( Arlington ) as an assistant professor in the Department of Biology . As a microbiologist interested in microbial genomics and environmental microbiology , Chang ’ s interests are in symbiotic interactions between rhizobia and legume plants , nitrogen fixation , and microbial biofilms . Chang has been employing a cultureindependent metagenomic approach to
Woo-Suk Chang increase our understanding of how rhizobial communities , rather than a species , interact with soybean . In addition to metagenomics , microarray technology and RNA-seq have been used to reveal global gene expression patterns regarding the response of Bradyrhizobium japonicum , a soybean symbiont ,
to several environmental factors , including desiccation , oxidative stress , heat stress , and low pH . Microbial biofilm ( specifically unsaturated biofilm ) in several soil bacteria is his other area of interest . Chang is interested in understanding how the molecular mechanism is involved in unsaturated biofilm formation and development .
Kee Hoon Sohn started his research career as an M . Sc . student in Byung- Kook Hwang ’ s group at Korea University in 2001 . His research there focused on the identification of pepper ( Capsicum annum ) genes that are induced by Xanthomonas campestris pv . vesicatoria infection . This experience greatly motivated Sohn to study further plant – microbe interactions . After completing
Kee Hoon Sohn his M . Sc . degree , Sohn briefly worked as a research assistant with Young-Jin Kim and Kyung-Hee Paek to identify the genes required for cell death pathways in Nicotiana benthamiana . He was very lucky to meet Kim , who taught him what a scientist should be . In 2004 , Sohn joined Jonathan Jones ’ group at the Sainsbury Laboratory as a Ph . D . student to study the functions of the Pseudomonas syringae type III effector , AvrRps4 . He continued working with Jones as a post-doc from 2009 until earlier this year . He hugely enjoyed his experience there ( except the weather !) and learned to become a scientist ( Thanks JJ !). Since March 2013 , Sohn has been a research fellow working at the Institute of Agriculture and Environment at Massey University in New Zealand as a principal investigator , supported by Bioprotection CORE ( New Zealand ) and the Rural Development Administration ( Korea ). His lab will continue to investigate the fundamental mechanisms of plant disease resistance and contribute in developing durable resistance to Pseudomonas syringae pv . actinidiae , a causal agent of bacterial canker disease in kiwifruit . n
Simple . Targeted . Relevant . IS-MPMI Job Center
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International Society for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions
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