Project Team
Our project team spans five universities and institutions with nearly 30 investigators representing varied expertise collaborating to understand the fundamentals of nitrogen utilizing to improve the oilseed camelina. We have divided our efforts into three main research activities: Genetics/Genomics, Physiology, and Plant-Microbe Interactions.
Current Open Positions
None currently
Area of focus: camelina microbiome characterization
Genetics and Genomics
Luca Comai
Co-principal investigator
Lead, Genetics and Genomics
Web Page
Luca Comai is professor of Plant Biology at the Genome Center of the University of California at Davis. He has B.S. equivalent from the Universita' di Bologna, Italy, and a Ph.D. in plant pathology from UC Davis. In his career, he has worked on bacterial plasmid genetics, plant biotechnology (glyphosate resistance via alteration of EPSP synthase), and genetics and genomics of polyploidy. He co-developed TILLING, a method to identify targeted mutations. Since joining UC Davis in 2006, he has focused on function and regulation of chromosomes in polyploid genomes and on stress-induced genome instability. Dr. Comai teaches the foundation genetics course at UCD using a flipped approach.
Chengci Chen
Member, Genetics/Genomics
Samuel Decker
Investigator
Member, Genetics/Genomics
Sam joined the Lu lab at MSU as a PhD student after obtaining a MS degree from the Brigham Young University in 2021.
He aims to dissect genetic mechanisms underlying nitrogen use efficiency and seed oil content in camelina using genomic approaches.
Jed Eberly
Member, Genetics/Genomics and Plant-Microbe Interactions
Web Page
Shreya Gautam
Investigator
Member, Genetics
Isabelle M. Henry
Investigator
Member, Genetics/Genomics
Isabelle Henry has been a Project Scientist at the UC Davis Genome Center since 2011. She received a BS degree in Biology, an MS degree in Biochemistry from the University of Liege, Belgium, and a Ph.D. degree in Biology from the University of Washington, Seattle, working on the triploid block and aneuploidy in Arabidopsis.
She is a Project Scientist, PI and co-PI on multiple projects. She uses genomic approaches to investigate how changes in genome structure affect gene function. She works on a variety of crop species, with an emphasis on polyploid species. Current projects include deciphering the mechanisms of sex determination in persimmon, developing efficient methods for mutation detection in large populations, developing breeding and functional genomics resources in poplar, and bringing mint into the genomic era.
Jinling Kang
Investigator
Member, Genetics/Genomics
Jinling is the research associate of the Lu lab at MSU, who has been working with
camelina for over 15 years. Besides providing assistance to researchers in managing
camelina growth and maintenance, Jinlng is developing a mapping population derived
from several camelina accessions with contrasting traits and genomic backgrounds.
William Schillinger
Investigator
Member, Genetics/Genomics
Web Page
Bill Schillinger is a professor and scientist in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University. He is based at the WSU Dryland Research Station at Lind where he serves as director. Before joining WSU, Bill worked in developing countries for 10 years in Asia and Africa in agricultural research and development projects with the Peace Corps and US Agency for International Development.
Bill provides leadership for cropping systems research in low-precipitation (less than 300 mm annual) farming areas of eastern Washington. Research is focused on best management practices to reduce wind erosion, increasing cropping diversity, agronomy of oilseed crops, winter pea, and winter triticale as well as technology for new farm equipment and long-term studies with conservation-till and no-till cropping systems.
Brian Smith
Investigator
Member, Genetics/Genomics
I will be joining Dr. Chaofu Lu’s lab while I work towards my Master’s in Plant Sciences. I graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering. My research will focus on understanding how heat stress impacts yield and oil content in camelina through both phenotypic and transcriptomic studies.
Jianhui Zhang
Investigator
Member, Genetics/Genomics
I am a postdoctoral researcher in Dr. Lu’s lab. I graduated from the Institute of
Genetics and Development Biology, China Academy of Science, in summer 2012 with a
Ph.D. degree in plant genetics. I have worked on genetics and genomics of small fruits
and vegetable crops over the past few years. My postdoctoral research will focus on
genetic regulation of the Omega-3 fatty acid content in Camelina seed oil.
Physiology
Jennifer Lachowiec
Investigator
Member, Genetics/Genomics and Physiology
Web Page
[email protected]
Chaofu Lu
Principal Investigator
Genetics/Genomics and Physiology
Web Page
[email protected] Page
Jorg Schwender
Member, Physiology
Web Page
John Shanklin
Co-principal Investigator
Member, Physiology
Web Page
[email protected]
Plant-Microbe Interactions
Susannah Tringe
Co-principal Investigator
Lead, Plant-Microbe Interactions
Web Page
Susannah Green Tringe is the Director of the Environmental Genomics and Systems Biology division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Before joining the Lab as a postdoc at the Joint Genome Institute, Susannah received her undergraduate degree in Physics from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Biophysics from Stanford University.
Susannah’s research focuses on using nucleic acid sequence data to study communities of microbes from diverse environmental niches and understand their assembly and function, with the goal of harnessing them for improved environmental and agricultural outcomes. These studies involve a combination of field, lab, and computational approaches to link molecular data to ecosystem processes. Her major research interests include how microbes interact with plants to affect growth, health and stress resistance, how microbes influence greenhouse gas uptake and release in wetlands and agricultural systems, and how microbes can be exploited to break down natural and man-made contaminants.
[email protected]
Timothy Paulitz
Co-principal Investigator
Lead Plant-Microbe Interactions
Web Page
[email protected]
Peter Andeer
Investigator
Member, Plant-Microbe Interactions
Web Page
Jed Eberly
Investigator
Member, Genetics/Genomics and Plant-Microbe Interactions
Web Page
[email protected]
Benzhong Fu
Member, Plant-Microbe Interactions
Dr. Fu is a Post-doctoral Researcher at Montana State University. He earned his Ph.D in plant pathology from Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in 2009. Since then, he has been teaching and conducting research in plant bacteriology, biocontrol, and microbiology at various universities in China and the U.S. as an associate professor and visiting scientist. Currently his research is focused on identify new diseases and screening beneficial microbes for Camelina.
Trent Northen
Member, Plant-Microbe Interactions
Web Page
Henry Stowell
Member, Plant-Microbe Interactions
Henry Stowell is pursuing his M.S. degree in the Department of Land Resources and Environmental Sciences. He is co-advised by Jed Eberly at the Central Agriculture Research Center in Moccasin Montana and Cathy Zabinski in LRES. His research is focused on identifying and culturing rhizobacterial isolates to increase biomass, oilseed yields, and pathogen resistance of Camelina.
Qing Yan
Member, Plant-Microbe Interactions
Web Page
[email protected]