PRI Welcomes Three New Postdoctoral Fellows
Following a series of interviews held during late November and early December, three candidates have been selected to join the Plant Resilience Institute. These candidates will explore new research projects which supplement the ongoing research among the 12 labs in the PRI.
The three successful candidates selected to join PRI are Joanna Feehan, Jinny Yang, and Derek Denney, who will commence their appointments sometime in 2024.
“These new PRI postdoc fellows share a common passion for community building, which PRI members value so deeply. Their independent and collaborative research programs will enrich not only the PRI but plant research at MSU.”, said the Search Committee Chair and PRI member Sarah Lebeis.
Joanna Feehan, currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Rhee Lab at the Carnegie Institute for Science, brings expertise in population genomics. Her previous research focused on understanding the mechanisms of extreme heat-adaptation in Arizona honeysweet (Tidestromia oblongifolia), a native plant to Death Valley. As a PRI postdoc, Fehean aims to collaborate with faculty members David Lowry, Sue Rhee, and Tom Sharkey. She hopes to leverage their combined expertise to investigate the mechanisms of extreme heat adaptation and utilize it as a model for multicellular eukaryotes.
Jinny Yang is a Ph.D. student at the University of Michigan in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Yang’s research interests are focused on the impacts of microbe-microbe and plant-microbe interactions on plant microbiomes and plant resilience. With a background in investigating predator-prey interactions in microbial communities, Yang's future work at PRI will focus on understanding how root microbiomes contribute to plant resilience in response to greenhouse gas pollution and nutrient deficiency. Eying future work at the PRI, Yang expressed interest in working with Hatem Rouached and Sarah Lebeis, both faculty in the department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences.
Derek Denney, a Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia in the department of Plant Biology is committed to deepening our understanding of the underlying basis of genetic variation in plants. Building upon his previous work on Drummond’s rockcress (Boechera stricta), Denney's proposed research at PRI will explore the emerging system Shepherd’s Purse (Capsella bursa-pastoris) under the leadership of PRI faculty Emily Josephs and David Lowry, both faculty in the department of Plant Biology.
“I am thrilled to welcome the second cohort of PRI postdoc fellows and support their innovative and integrative research programs on plant resilience against climate change.”, said PRI director Seung Yon (Sue) Rhee.
Each postdoctoral position may be extended for up to three years.
