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.