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June 6, 2003|Volume 31, Number 31|Three-Week Issue



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Xing-Wang Deng



Xing Deng appointed as
Eaton Professor of Plant Biology

Xing-Wang Deng, newly named as the Daniel C. Eaton Professor of Plant Biology, has conducted breakthrough research that focuses on how plants modulate their growth pattern in response to different kinds of light.

Deng is director of the Peking-Yale Center for Plant Molecular Genetics and Agrobiotechnology, a joint initiative designed to foster collaborative research among scientists at Yale and Peking universities and train international leaders in the fields of plant genetics and agrobiotechnology. A goal of the center, which was established in 2000, is to apply basic research to improve agricultural crops. The center also facilitates student and faculty exchanges between the two universities.

Deng and his research team in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology use genetic, genomic and molecular tools to study how light regulates plant growth and how plants, sensing light variations, modulate their own development and growth behavior in response to changes in light. In a study published in the journal Nature in 2000, Deng and his team showed that plants have a sophisticated way of adapting to seasonal changes and lighting environments, and demonstrated how photoreceptors and proteins in plants are involved in the process.

As director of the Peking-Yale Center, Deng oversees research and training focused on the manipulation of the plant genome in order to enhance an understanding of the mechanism and regulation of plant defenses and hormones, as well as the bioengineering of plant shape and size. At Yale, he has worked with colleagues to integrate plant sciences in core biology courses for undergraduates.

The Yale biologist has received a number of prestigious honors in recognition of his work. In 1995, former President Bill Clinton named him one of 30 young U.S. scientists and engineers to be awarded Presidential Faculty Fellow Awards from the National Science Foundation. This month, he will be presented the Kumho Science International Award in Plant Molecular Biology and Biotechnology in a ceremony in Korea. Also this year, he was among a number of Yale researchers to receive pilot grants from the University's Center for Genomics and Proteomics.

Deng earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees at Beijing University in China and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. He joined the Yale faculty in 1992 and was named an associate professor with tenure in 1998. He became a full professor in 2001.

The plant biologist has served as associate editor of the journals Genes to Cell, Photochemistry and Photobiology, and Plant Molecular Biology. He is a member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science and the American Society of Plant Physiologists.


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

Yale Celebrates 302nd Graduation

Trip expands Yale ties to South Korea

Koplan elected as alumni fellow

YSN researcher to head state's VA Department

International festival returns June 12-28

Edelson named director of Yale Cancer Center

ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPS

Alumnus donates first novel by an African-American slave

Reunion events to explore world's public health crises

British Art Center acquisitions honor its founding 25 years ago

'Behold, the Sea Itself' showcases center's collection of marine art

Graduate/Professional International Study Grants

YCIAS offers Summer Institutes for educators

Corrections


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