My passion for plant resilience research began during my undergraduate studies in the College of Horticulture at Northwest A&F University. To further develop my research skills with interdisciplinary approaches, I pursued my MSc thesis in the Laboratory of Plant Physiology at Wageningen University, where I studied the molecular mechanisms underlying lateral root development under salt stress. After that, l worked for one and a half years as a technician and lab manager in the Stress Resilience in Crops Lab, supervised by Dr. Karlova Rumyana. These experiences equipped me with essential technical expertise and project management skills, and solidified my motivation to address critical agricultural challenges through fundamental research. In May 2025, I started my PhD study in the CropXR work package “Optimising Root Architecture for Drought Stress Resilience”, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Christa Testerink. 

Drought stress is an increasing concern threatening plant health and global agricultural production. When exposed to water deficiency, rapid remodeling of the root system architecture (RSA) is a key strategy to optimize plant water supply. However, the relationship between drought-induced RSA modifications and the underlying cellular activities remains unclear. Moreover, regulatory networks derived from bulk omics in roots often conceal the heterogeneity of individual cells, and the spatiotemporal dynamics of roots under drought stress require higher resolution. In my PhD project, I aim to provide insights into how the transcriptional landscapes and protein interaction profiles of distinct root cell types shift under drought stress, and how these changes uniquely contribute to overall plant drought resilience.