Speaker: Hongchang Cui

Time: 4pm, November 29, 2018

Venue: S3119

Introduction of Speaker:

Dr. Cui is a distinguished professor of the College of Biological Science, Northwest Science University of Agriculture and Forestry. Dr. Cui received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Peking University in 1987 and 1990, respectively. He worked as an assistant investigator in Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry from 1990 to 1997, during which he has spent one year as a visiting scholar at Cornell University. Dr. Cui pursued his doctoral studies at Pennsylvania State University in 1997, under the supervision of Dr. Nina V. Fedoroff, a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States. On graduation in 2003, Dr. Cui joined the laboratory of Dr. Philip N. Benfey at Duke University, who is also a member of the national academy of sciences, and a world leader in the field of root developmental biology research. Dr. Cui started his own independent research in 2010 as an assistant professor at Florida State University. He was promoted to the rank of associate professor with tenure in 2016 and in the same year was appointed as a distinguished professor of Northwest Science University of Agriculture and Forestry.

Dr. Cui’s main research interest centers on root developmental biology with an aim to elucidate the mechanisms underlying stem cell renewal, cell fate specification, and patterning, as well as lateral root formation. He is also interested in the molecular basis of roots’ adaptive response to stress, particular at the cell-type level. Another aim of his interest is the developmental pathways and gene regulatory networks underlying C4photosynthesis. To date, Dr. Cui has published as first author or corresponding author 17 research articles and 2 book chapters, including 3 in top-notch journals such as Science, Nature and Plant Cell, and 7 in high-impact journals such as Plant Physiology, Plant Journal, and Molecular Plant.