Physiology of photosynthesis and its interactions with environmental drivers such as light, water, temperature and CO2
Research Area
All terrestrial plants suffer from the same contraption where in order to take up carbon, water must be lost to the atmosphere. We are targeting several major gaps in our understanding of how plants achieve an effective balance between water loss and carbon gain. Additionally, photosynthetic gas exchange has traditionally been studied under steady state conditions. Although this facilitates ease of analysis, natural environments are anything but constant. To address this discrepancy, we are defining constraints to photosynthesis and carbon assimilation under dynamic conditions.
Project Interests
I am particularly interested in developing projects to study regulation of light harvesting and photoprotective mechanisms across the green lineage. With public availability of sequencing data across a diverse range of species rapidly expanding, now is the time to leverage these resources and increase our understanding beyond the level of a few model organisms. I am also interested in developing projects on the impact of photosynthetic pathway on plant performance across different environments, as well as the effects of long-term adaptation to harsh environments on phenotypic plasticity.