Zhang Lab @ Danforth
Ru Zhang, Principal Investigator
Position:
Assistant Member, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, since September 2016
Education and trainings:
Postdoc, Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, 2010-2016
PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2005-2009
BS, Nankai University, China, 2001-2005
Contact:
Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
975 N Warson Road, Olivette, MO 63132, USA
About: Ru's research experience centers on photosynthesis and ranges from plant physiology/biochemistry to algal genomics to organelle evolution. During her PhD training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, she worked with Dr. Thomas Sharkey using gas exchange and spectroscopic methods to study the effects of high temperature on photosynthesis in leaves of Arabidopsis and tobacco plants. During her postdoctoral training with Dr. Martin Jonikas and Dr. Arthur Grossman at the Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, Ru continued to explore photosynthesis by developing high-throughput genotyping and quantitative phenotyping tools in the eukaryotic, unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii to identify photosynthesis-deficient algal mutants on a genome-wide scale. She also participated in the generation of a genome-saturating, indexed, mutant library of Chlamydomonas. The library could be used as both forward and reverse genetic platforms to dissect cellular processes under various conditions. In addition, she has worked on the photo-acclimation of the green amoeba Paulinella chromatophora (which has nascent “plastids” that evolved much more recently, 0.06 billion years ago) to gain insight into the evolution of photosynthetic organelles. She is passionate about how photosynthesis in plants/algae respond to abiotic stresses, especially heat stress. Her long-term career goal is to engineer photosynthesis for improved agricultural and biofuel production. Outside of the lab, Ru enjoys cooking, gardening, playing Ping Pong, watching movies, and playing with her kids. Ru is a mom of two boys: 6-year-old Zoran and 3-month-old Roger when she started her lab at Danforth in 2016.
Michelle Richards
Position:
Grants Specialist, since July 2016
Education:
University of Missouri - Columbia, BSBA with Marketing Emphasis, Economics Minor
About: Michelle received her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing and a minor in Economics from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She has worked in the administrative field for the past 10 years and has done everything from payroll processing to office management to assisting with grant proposal submissions. Michelle joined the Danforth Center in July of 2016 as an Administrative Assistant and now serves as a Grants Specialist for several of the labs here, including the Zhang lab.
Erin Mattoon
Position:
Graduate Student, since April 2018
Education:
Cornell University, BS in Biological Sciences, 2017
Contact: EMattoon@danforthcenter.org
About: Erin received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from Cornell University in May 2017. Her work there focused on the genetic aspects underlying meiotic recombination in maize. In the summer of 2015, she was an REU intern where she studied the genetic similarities between plant interactions with mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. She is now a first-year graduate student in the Plant and Microbial Biosciences program at Washington University. Erin rotated in the Zhang lab from Nov - Dec in 2017 and then decided to join the Zhang lab for her PhD in April 2018 to study algal heat responses. In her free time, Erin enjoys cooking, swimming, and exploring the local community.
Leila Pazouki
Position:
Postdoctoral Associate, since April 2020
Education:
Estonian University of Life Sciences, PhD, 2017
About: Leila Pazouki received her PhD degree in Prof. Ülo Niinemets's group at the Estonian university of life sciences investigating emission, gene regulation and function of terpenoids in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and yarrow (Achillea millefolium). She is currently working on photosynthesis apparatus and its related genes of psychrophilic and mesophilic green algea. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, spending time in nature and road tripping.
Grace Milburn
Position:
Lab Technician, since October 2020
Education:
Humboldt State University, BS in Botany, 2020
About: Grace received her B.S. in Botany from Humboldt State University in May of 2020. During her time there, she was a supplementary instructor for genetics and worked in a lab on bee identification. In the summer of 2019, she was an REU intern at the American Museum of Natural History where she did research on bee diversity in New York City green spaces. Since graduating, she has worked at UC Davis in Neal William's lab on research concerning plant-pollinator interactions. In her free time, Grace enjoys camping, hiking, and film photography.
Cady Bailey
Position:
Lab Technician, since October 2021
Education:
Duke University, BS in Biology, 2021
About: Cady received her B.S. in Biology from Duke University in May of 2021. During her time at Duke, she researched the bioacoustics assessment of oyster reef biodiversity and the impact of C. celata boring sponges on oyster reef biodiversity. She has since spent a season working with the NC State University Sweet Potato and Cucurbit Cultural Management Program. In her free time, she loves to dance, write, bake, and crochet.
Eileen Kosola
Position:
Lab Technician, since July 2022
Education:
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, BS in Plant and Microbial Biology, 2020
About: Eileen received her bachelor's degree from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in May 2022. As an undergraduate, she was involved in a circadian clock lab, and measured phenotypic and genotypic changes in plant growth under cold stress. Combined with a summer job and later an REU internship at the Danforth center, these experiences helped her discover a strong interest in how the environment impacts plant growth. In her spare time, Eileen enjoys reading, drawing, and watching anime.
Kylee Hillman
Position:
Lab Technician, since August 2022
Education:
Florida State University, BS in Biological Sciences, 2022
About: Kylee received her B.S. degree in Biological Sciences from Florida State University in May 2022. During her time there, she was a Teaching Assistant for non-majors Biology Lab and researched evolutionary dynamics in chorus frogs. In the summer of 2021, she was an REU student at Utah State University in the Zhan Lab where she researched curcumin biosynthesis. In her free time she enjoys traveling, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.
Kaia Luik
Position:
Undergraduate student, since September 2022
Education:
Washington University in St. Louis, Sophomore
About: Kaia is a sophomore at Washington University in St. Louis. She grew up in Houston, Texas and spent two years in Bangladesh. She has been interested in genetics since she started high school, and as a college freshman became focused on plant genetics. In the summer of 2022, she worked as a Grow Room Assistant at Elemental Enzymes. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing (with a recent interest in sketch comedy), and studying with friends.