Lirong Zeng joined the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln as an Assistant Professor in July 2014. His expertise is in molecular plant pathology. Zeng’s research has focused on the identification and characterization of genes and signal transduction pathways involved in plant immunity against microbial pathogens, particularly the roles and mechanisms by which the ubiquitination system regulates plant defense responses. Zeng’s long-term goal is to elucidate and eventually manipulate for crop improvement the key molecular mechanisms that plants use to defend themselves against different biotic stresses. Before joining UNL, he obtained a Ph.D. at Ohio State University under the direction of Guoliang Wang and was a post-doctoral research associate at the Boyce Thompson Institute, Cornell University with Gregory Martin. Lirong most recently was a faculty member at University of Arkansas-Little Rock (UALR) where his research program was funded by NSF and USDA.
Stephen Wegulo
swegulo2@unl.edu