How do plants acquire and utilize essential and beneficial mineral nutrients
from their environment? How are mineral toxicants absorbed and how do they
impact the physiology and performance of plants? How do we effectively and
responsibly translate laboratory findings to field-level advances in crop
performance and agricultural practice? These are some of the major research
questions we try to tackle in our lab.
We apply both classical (e.g., radioisotopic flux analysis, electrophysiology, tissue-content analysis, gas-exchange measurements, etc.) and contemporary (e.g., heterologous expression systems, genetically encoded fluorescent sensors, fiber photometry, etc.) techniques to the study of nutrient and toxicant transport in the world’s foremost crops (e.g., rice, wheat, legumes, etc.). Major research themes include:
(1) Silicon (Si) transport and Si-derived stress resilience; (2) Low-affinity nitrogen uptake and ammonium toxicity; and (3) Potassium/sodium transport and dynamics in the contexts of nutrition and salinity stress.
In collaboration with world leaders in agronomy (both locally and abroad), we aim to apply laboratory findings to real-world improvements in areas of utmost importance, including food security, agricultural sustainability, and environmental protection.
