Yi Zhang
Summary
I received my Ph.D. in plant molecular science from Washington State University in 2010. My Ph.D. work was focused on the biochemical characterization of Arabidopsis enzyme in one-carbon metabolism, serine hydroxymethyltransferase. I did the protein purification and enzyme kinetics and published my results in Biochemical Journal and Analytical Biochemistry.
After graduation, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Maryland College Park. I worked on plant-microbe interaction. My main project was to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the broad-spectrum resistance against powdery mildew pathogens mediated by a unique plant resistance gene(RPW8). I used genetic, cell biological, and biochemical approaches to investigate the protein trafficking pathway towards and membrane biogenesis at the host-microbe interface. My work was published in Plant Cell and Plant Signaling & Behavior.