Plant systems biology · Gene regulatory networks · Abiotic stress resilience · Single-cell and multi-omics genomics
I am an Assistant Professor — Fixed Term in the Plant Research Laboratory , the Department of Plant Biology , and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) at Michigan State University. My research aims to understand how plants dynamically reprogram gene expression in response to environmental stress, with a particular emphasis on gene regulatory networks, systems genomics, and crop resilience.
My research integrates transcriptomics, single-cell genomics, chromatin accessibility, transcription factor binding maps, and regulatory network modeling to identify causal regulators of plant resilience. My long-term goal is to develop interpretable and experimentally testable frameworks that can support climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable plant systems.
While I am affiliated with the Brandizzi Lab, I also lead independent research directions in sorghum abiotic stress biology, regulatory genomics, and network-enabled gene discovery. My work is supported through GLBRC within the Brandizzi Lab, as well as by independent projects including the MSU GREEEN project and multiple JGI-funded projects for which I serve as PI.
2026 Yaoping Zhang Bioenergy Research Award
Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
Recognized for contributions to systems-level gene discovery, regulatory genomics, and research advancing the understanding of plant resilience in bioenergy crops.
I am a plant systems biologist who uses genomics, single-cell technologies, and regulatory network modeling to understand how plants sense, respond to, and recover from environmental stress. My research focuses on transcription factor networks, chromatin regulation, and stress-induced transcriptional reprogramming, with the long-term goal of identifying causal regulators and predictive signatures of resilience.
My future research program will build interpretable, data-driven models that connect molecular regulatory states to plant stress adaptation, recovery, and interactions with associated microbial communities. By combining computational prediction with experimental validation, my lab will work toward practical strategies for improving resilience in crops and other plant systems under climate change.
We reconstruct stress-responsive gene regulatory networks to identify transcription factors and regulatory pathways that control plant adaptation to drought, heat, salinity, and proteotoxic stress.
We use single-cell and multi-omics approaches to resolve how stress responses differ across tissues and cell types, and how chromatin accessibility contributes to regulatory state transitions.
We aim to connect host regulatory states with rhizosphere microbiome assembly and function, integrating host genomics, microbial profiles, and soil chemistry to understand plant resilience at multiple scales.
Representative publications most closely aligned with my current and future research program.
A complete publication list is available in my CV and on Google Scholar .
My current and ongoing projects focus on systems-level analysis of plant stress responses, regulatory network modeling, and multi-omics approaches for crop resilience.
Principal Investigator on multiple JGI-supported projects generating transcriptomic and transcription factor binding resources to understand abiotic stress responses in sorghum.
Independent project support through MSU GREEEN to investigate stress-associated biological mechanisms relevant to plant resilience and agricultural productivity.
Research supported through the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center within the Brandizzi Lab, contributing systems-genomics approaches to bioenergy crop resilience.
I teach because I want students to experience the moment when biology shifts from a collection of facts to a coherent and empowering way to understand the living world. My teaching emphasizes evidence-based reasoning, conceptual integration, data interpretation, and clear scientific communication.
I use active learning, structured discussions, low-stakes assessments, primary literature, and real biological datasets to help students connect foundational concepts with modern biological research.
I mentor undergraduate researchers, research assistants, and early-career scientists through structured guidance, clear expectations, regular feedback, and meaningful project ownership.
My goal as a teacher and mentor is to help students build confidence as scientific thinkers who can work across biology, computation, and agriculture.
My current CV is available here: Download CV .