Research Area:  Stem cells, shoot development, meristems, transcriptional circuits, cell-cell communication, confocal live imaging, quantitative developmental biology

Current Research Interests:

The research interest of Dr. Zhou’s group is to understand cellular and molecular mechanisms in control of shoot development and stem cell homeostasis, using both experimental and computational approaches. Our research centers on the stem-cell identity and function in the meristems of Arabidopsis and Ceratopteris, and we are interested in understanding: how stem cells are dynamically organized and maintained through continuous cell division, growth and differentiation; how developmental decisions are made during cell patterning and new organ formation; and how the regulatory circuits of transcription factors and microRNAs mediate cell fate specification and cell-cell communication. We are tackling these questions using multiple interdisciplinary methods, including confocal live cell imaging, computational quantification, modeling, biochemistry, molecular genetics, and functional genomics.