Cornell University
Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology
Ithaca, NY 14853
August 2008-present, MS/PhD Student, Plant -Microbe Biology; Department of Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology, Cornell University
September 2001- November 2005: B.S., Biotechnology, University of Agriculture and Forestry, Vietnam.
Graduate Advisor: Samuel Cartinhour
Research Focus
My long-term research interest is to study biological system in a holistic sense using computational and experimental tools. Living things are composed of many interconnected components that can not be understood completely by studying each component separately. Computational tools may play many roles to support biologists from giving predictions, analyzing results to modeling the whole system. Moreover with the rapid advance of high-throughput sequencing and other molecular techniques, the amount of data is exceeding the level we can handle without help from computational tools.
My current project is to understand how Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 regulates its flagellar synthesis. As a primary locomotion organelle of many bacteria species, the flagellum enables bacteria to move toward favorable environments, avoid detrimental ones and compete with other bacteria. Importantly, motility is required for chemotaxis, colonization, dispersion and biofilm formation in bacteria. And interestingly, synthesis of the flagellum is a complex process in which most of flagellar structural genes are expressed in highly ordered manner as an energy saving strategy of the cell. In many bacteria, sigma 28 regulates transcription of late flagellin genes needed to complete flagellum synthesis. To understand how flagellum system is regulated in Pseudomonas syrinage pv. tomato DC3000, I have tried to model binding sites of sigma 28 (fliA) using computational and experimental tools and conduct motility assay for wild-type strains and fliA mutants.
Professional Experience
February 2009 – Present: Graduate Research Assistant. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. I am modeling binding sites of sigma 28 (fliA) using computational and experimental tools.
October 2008 – January 2009: Lab rotation. Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. I took part in making collective mutants of effector proteins on Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000.
November 2005 – July 2008: An apprentice lecturer. University of Agriculture and Forestry, Vietnam. I worked as a research assistant and an instructor of Molecular Biology experiments for last year students.
2004 – October 2005: Student at University of Agriculture and Forestry, Vietnam. My thesis was about diagnosing Tobacco Mosaic Virus, Cucumber Mosaic Virus and Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus using Enzym linked Immuno - Sorbent Assay (ELISA) and Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR).
Awards and Honors
2008, Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF) fellowship.