Recognizing Plant Cell authors: Peng Zhou
Peng Zhou, first author of Meta Gene Regulatory Networks in Maize Highlight Functionally Relevant Regulatory Interactions
Current Position: Post-doctoral Associate in Dr. Nathan Springer lab at the University of Minnesota
Education: Ph.D. (Plant Pathology) in University of Minnesota; M.Sc. (Forensic Genetics) and B.Sc. (Biological Engineering & Computer Science Technology) in Xi’an Jiaotong University in Xi’an, China
Non-scientific Interests: travelling, reading, movies, & music
Brief bio: I built up a background in both biology and computer science during my undergraduate study. I received training in human and population genetics during my master’s study and for the first time applied bioinformatic skills into research. I then came to the US pursuing a Ph.D. degree and worked on the Medicago genome sequencing and assembly project, during which I gained much experience with plant genomics, computational biology and population genomics. After that I joined the Nathan Springer lab at University of Minnesota working on maize genetics, transcriptomics and integrative biology. I am thrilled by the potential of computational and statistical applications in addressing complex biological questions. My current research interests include: data mining on rapidly growing RNA-Sequencing resources for functional gene regulations; integrating RNA-Seq, ChIP-Seq, DAP-Seq, WGBS and ATAC-Seq for transcriptional network construction in maize; elucidation of molecular mechanisms underlying crop hybrid vigor using multi-omics approach; elucidation of transcriptional regulatory differences in maize genotypes response to cold and heat stress.
Homepage: https://orionzhou.github.io
姓名：周鹏
当前职位：明尼苏达大学Nathan Springer实验室博士后
教育经历：明尼苏达大学（植物病理学）博士，西安交通大学（法医遗传学）硕士，西安交通大学（生物工程 + 计算机科学与技术）学士
兴趣爱好：旅行，阅读（中国古典文学），电影和音乐
个人简介：高中时代受到同班同学的影响和生物老师的鼓励，我的理想是攻克癌症——因此填报大学志愿时我果断选择了生命科学专业。在本科阶段我按部就班的学习积累了生物学和计算机两个领域的基础知识，却并未意识到将来要如何派上用场。硕士阶段接触到人类基因组计划和群体遗传学相关领域，尝试用编程解决一些研究问题并第一次意识到生物信息学技能的重要和前景。博士阶段我来到美国明尼苏达大学师从Nevin Young从事了模式豆科植物Medicago truncatula的基因组测序以及群体遗传进化分析，期间积累了丰富的二代和三代测序数据分析的经验。博士毕业后我加入Nathan Springer实验室从事玉米遗传学，转录调控和系统生物学的相关研究。现阶段我感兴趣的方向包括：通过大规模转录组数据挖掘有价值的基因表达调控关系，整合转录组和其他多种表观遗传组学数据来改善转录调控网络的构建，结合转录组和蛋白组数据阐明玉米杂种优势的分子基础，鉴定玉米受冷/热胁迫后表达改变的顺势调控元件并在不同玉米品系中进行验证。我喜欢思考复杂的生物学问题，享受通过计算机和统计学的手段对生物学问题进行量化和验证的过程，对大数据分析和机器学习领域充满热情。
