Shumin Wang

I finished my master’s program at Nanjing Agricultural University (China), majoring in Vegetable Science. There, I had the pleasure of working in the Key Laboratory of Southern Vegetable Crop Genetic Improvement and did some research on the isolation and characterization of resistance to the Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) candidate genes. Because of my enthusiasm for science, I am continuing my studies at UBC under the joint supervision of Dr. Carl Douglas and Dr. Shawn Mansfield, as part of the “Working on Walls” network. My PhD project is investigating the transcription factors involved in regulation of secondary cell wall synthesis in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. Our lab has discovered that Ovate Family Protein (OFP) can form a functional complex with KNAT7 to regulate aspects of secondary cell wall formation. I will study factors related to OFP which could also contribute to the secondary cell wall synthesis. When I arrived in Vancouver, I was attracted by the beauty of this city. It is really exciting to live and study here.