The Dept. of Molecular Biolosciences and Bioengineering has a new assistant professor, Dr. Zhi-Yan Du. Known as “Rock,” he comes to CTAHR from the University of Hong Kong by way of Michigan State University, where he served as a research assistant professor.
Rock’s research interests include lipid metabolism in photosynthetic organisms and fungi, biotic and abiotic stress tolerance and resilience, synthetic biology in plants and microalgae, symbioses between photosynthetic and microorganisms, and biotechnological applications utilizing synthetic consortia.
“I’m so happy to be here! No snow and winter! ” he says. “I study biochemistry and synthetic biology in microalgae and fungi. I hope I can develop bioproducts using the abundant tropical species and other natural resources in Hawaiʻi to meet the world’s growing demand for food, energy, and pharmaceuticals.”
The next time you’re in the Ag Sciences bldg, stop by room 218 and give Rock a warm CTAHR welcome.