Principal Investigator

Z. Jeffrey Chen

D. J. Sibley Centennial Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics

Jeff Chen received is B.S. in Agronomy at Zhejiang Agricultural University, his M.S. in Genetics and Breeding at Nanjing Agricultural University, and his Ph.D. in Genetics at Texas A&M University (dissertation advisor: Gary Hart).  Following post-doctoral positions with Ronald Phillips and Howard Rines at the University of Minnesota and Craig Pikaard at the Washington University in St. Louis, he joined the faculty at Texas A&M in 1999, where he was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure.  In 2005, he joined the faculty of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology and the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology at The University of Texas at Austin and now is the D. J. Sibley Centennial Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics.

Jeff Chen has developed an innovative research program to study molecular mechanisms for gene expression changes and growth vigor in hybrids (combining two individuals of the same species) and allopolyploids (combining two or more related species) relative to those of the parents. His research employs Arabidopsis (a weedy plant in the mustard family) and cotton as experimental systems. Changes in chromosomal dosage and novel interactions between parental alleles and loci in hybrids and polyploids alter gene expression important to growth and development, develop diseases and cancers in animals, and increase biomass and fitness in plants. He and his colleagues have found that changes in gene expression in plant hybrids and allopolyploids are associated with growth vigor, enhanced resistances to diseases and environmental stresses , and fiber cell development , which leads to increased biomass and evolutionary success of plant polyploids. Moreover, the results have significant implications, not only for the field of genetics, but also for the ultimate success of biotechnological efforts to safely and effectively manipulate gene expression associated with growth vigor in plants and crops that produce food, feed, and biofuels.

EDUCATION

Zhejiang Agricultural University Agronomy B.S., 1984
Nanjing Agricultural University Genetics & Breeding M.S., 1987
Texas A&M University Genetics Ph.D., 1993
University of Minnesota Molecular Genetics Postdoc, 1993-1995
Washington University Biology & Biochemistry NIH Postdoc, 1995-1999

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1986-1988 Faculty of Plant Genetics, Northeast Agricultural University
1990-1993 Graduate Research, Genetics Program, Texas A&M University. Dissertation Advisor: Gary E. Hart
1993-1995 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota. Mentors: Ronald L. Phillips and Howard W. Rines
1995-1999 NIH Postdoctoral Fellow, Biology Department, Washington University-St. Louis. Mentor: Craig S. Pikaard
1999-2005 Assistant Professor, Texas A&M University
Member, Graduate of Genetics, Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences
2005 Associate Professor, Texas A&M University
2005-2008 Associate Professor and D. J. Sibley Centennial Professorship Fellow, University of Texas at Austin
Member, Faculty of Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology
Member, Graduate Faculty of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Plant Biology
Member, Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology
Member, Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
2007- Joint Member, Integrative Biology
2008- Professor, D. J. Sibley Centennial Professorship in Plant Molecular Genetics

 

HONORS AND AWARDS

1989-1990 Graduate Scholarship, K. C. Wong Foundation in Hong Kong
1995-1997 Monsanto Postdoctoral Fellowship, The Monsanto Company
1997-1999 National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Research Service Award
2005-present D. J. Sibley Centennial Professorship Fellow in Plant Molecular Genetics
2005-present Fellow of the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

MEMBERSHIP

The Genetics Society of America (GSA)
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB)
DNA Methylation Society (DMS)
Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution (SMBE)

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