My pronouns are he/him
The extracellular space (apoplast) is one of the most significant biotic interfaces and is the main compartment colonized by cellular plant pathogens (e.g., bacteria, fungi, oomycetes). Plants partner with an incredibly diverse microbiome in the apoplastic root spaces as well. This apoplastic battlefield plays a critical role in perceiving and responding to the environmental cues that involves antagonistic interactions between proteins and metabolites secreted by plants and pathogens. My research question aims to unlock novel paradigms of plant extracellular immunity for new crop protection strategies. To achieve this, I intend to develop Cross-linking mass spectrometry (XLMS), a powerful chemical proteomics tool, to uncover novel protein-protein interactions in plant-bacterial interphase. I also integrate diverse biotechnological tools available to study plant molecular biology that help manipulate both the plant and the bacterial genome.
