Dafu Wang

BIOGRAPHY

Dafu Wang is an Associate Faculty Member who works with Faculty Member Steven Huber to recommend the scientific literature in their field.

ACADEMIC POSITION:
Research Scientist at Monsanto

EDUCATION AND BACKGROUND:
Dafu Wang received his BS degree in Environmental Science (Biology) from Nankai University in China in 1997. He was awarded 'Scholarships for Excellent Undergraduates' by Nankai University. The same year, Dafu was admitted to the Graduate School of the China Academy Science with a full scholarship. He worked as a research assistant in the Photosynthesis Lab at the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology & Ecology, Chinese Academy Science, and completed his MS degree in Plant Biology in 2000. His MS thesis was titled 'The proton gate of Chloroplast ATPase: structure and function of epsilon-subunit' directed by Dr Jia-mian Wei.

In 2000, Dafu was awarded by the Chinese Academy of Science the 'Excellent Graduate Student Award'. The project that he was the key contributor for was awarded by the Governmental Council of Shanghai City as 'Advanced Scientific Technology Award' in 2000.

In the fall of 2000, Dafu was offered a full scholarship to pursue his PhD degree in Plant Biology at the University of Illinois, one of the US leading institutions in agricultural sciences and plant biology. Dafu worked as both research assistant and teaching assistant during his PhD study. He successfully applied multidisciplinary techniques unveiling the molecular mechanism of several complicated photosynthetic events, which offer the molecular basis for improving photosynthetic efficiency and improving crop yield. Dafu finished his PhD with a thesis titled 'Redox regulation of Rubisco activase and novel gene discovery in C3 photosynthesis' directed by Dr Archie R Portis Jr in 2006.

From 2006 to October 2008, Dafu worked as a postdoc fellow at the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois. His innovative work on mechanisms of cold tolerance in C4 photosynthesis of Miscanthus – a giant perennial grass used as a biofuels source – connects multidisciplines including plant molecular biology and biochemistry, plant physiology, and microarray.

MEMBERSHIPS:
American Society of Plant Biologists

CURRENT RESEARCH:
Dafu is currently working as a Research Scientist at Monsanto – the leading global agricultural biotechnology company and a leading global provider of agricultural products and integrated solutions to farmers. He brings his multidisciplinary expertise to unveil mechanisms of herbicide resistance of weeds in the US and international cropping systems. Herbicides play an essential role in maintaining the high productivity of US agriculture. The emergence of herbicide-resistant weeds and their rapid spreading among US major crop belts not only jeopardize productivity of US agriculture and US economy, but also world food supply as the US is one of the largest grain exporters. Dafu’s current and future research provides and will provide the best solution for effective weed management and high crop productivity by i) unveiling resistant mechanisms; ii) reversing resistance and restoring herbicide activity based on these mechanisms; iii) enhancing stewardship of herbicide practice.

HOME PAGE
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/dafu-wang/23/347/652