People

Program affiliation
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Plant and Microbial Biosciences

Research summary
The ecology and evolution of infectious diseases, with a focus on wild populations of herbaceous plant hosts and their powdery mildew pathogens.

Key words
host-parasite interactions, disease ecology, plant pathogens, urban ecology, climate change

Program: Human and Statistical Genetics

Current advisor: Li Ding, PhD

Undergraduate university: Chang Gung University, 2012

Program: Evolutionary Biology and Ecology

Graduation Year: 1982

Thesis Advisor: Peter H. Raven

Thesis Title: "A Biosystematic Study of Ludwigia Sect. Microcarpium"

Program affiliation
Immunology
Cancer Biology
Neurosciences

Research summary
Understanding the role of immune system in the pathogenesis of cancer and age-related neurological disorders (Alzheimer's disease), and then to develop effective strategies for manipulation of immune cell fate and function for disease prevention and immunotherapy.

Key words
Senescent T cells, Regulatory T cells (Tregs), Dendritic cells (DCs), Tumor microenvironment, Alzheimer's disease, Cell metabolism, Toll-like receptors, Immunotherapy

Program: Neurosciences

Graduation Year: 2004

Thesis Advisor: David C. Van Essen

Thesis Title: Peaked Luminance Encoding in Macaque Areas V1 and V2

Program: Molecular Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis

Graduation Year: 2025

Thesis Advisor: Meng Wu

Thesis Title: Title: Balancing Defense and Tolerance: Complement-Mediated Pathogen Protection and Commensal Microbial Antigen-Specific Regulatory T Cell Responses in the Gut

Program: Molecular Genetics and Genomics

Current advisor: Gautam Dantas, PhD

Undergraduate university: University of California-Berkeley, 2019

Program: Evolution Ecology and Population Biology

Graduation Year: 2019

Thesis Advisor: Yehuda Ben-Shahar

Thesis Title: The Evolutionary and Functional Roles of Synonymous Codon Usage in Eukaryotes

Program: Plant and Microbial Biosciences

Current advisor: Ram Dixit, PhD

Undergraduate university: University of California-San Diego, 2024

Program: Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Current advisor: Anthony I. Dell, PhD

Undergraduate university: Kenyon College, 2020