Recognizing Plant Cell authors: Jeonghwa Oh

Jeonghwa Oh, first author of PHYTOCHROME INTERACTING FACTOR 8 inhibits phytochrome A-mediated far-red light responses in Arabidopsis

Current Position: Ph.D. candidate, Plant Biology Lab, Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Education: B.S., Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

Non-scientific Interests: watching movies, exploring new sweets

Brief bio: Back in 2011, I spent the summer at Prof. Giltsu Choi’s lab (Plant Biology Lab) for an undergraduate research program. That was when I first learned how plants perceive and respond to light, and when I began to find enjoyment in doing scientific research. After joining the lab as a graduate student, I started to study PIF8 that was the least-known PIF in Arabidopsis and endeavored to identify how it functions in plant light signaling. I found PIF8 is a genuine PIF that represses phyA-mediated light responses in far-red light and also found out its unique property such as COP1-mediated degradation in darkness. I’m currently working on the evolutional importance of PIF8 in Arabidopsis and other plant species.