Jemaa Essemine, PhD, Centre for Excellence in Molecular Plant Science, China
Dr Essemine is a Research associate at the Chinese Academy of Sciences specializing in plant molecular genetics, particularly in gene-editing technologies like CRISPR-Cas and base editing. His research encompasses diverse areas of plant science, including plant physiology, biochemistry, photosynthesis, biophysics, epigenetics, and synthetic biology. He utilizes advanced techniques such as integrative metabolomics and transcriptomics to identify key genes responsible for genetic variation and regulation. Dr Essemine's work highlights the intricate interplay between the genome and epigenome, as well as the integration of various biological systems and processes. Synthetic biology plays a crucial role in his research, enabling the design and engineering of climate-smart plants and stress-resilient crops to enhance overall productivity. He completed his PhD in Biological Sciences through a collaboration between University of Tunis El Manar (UTM) in Tunisia and the University du Quebec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR) in Canada. Following this, he pursued postdoctoral research before assuming a tenure-track researcher associate position with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). Dr Essemine is actively involved in the scientific community, serving as an editor or reviewer for several high-impact journals. His contributions include identifying genes that control cyclic electron flow (CEF) in rice leaves, which has significant implications for understanding plant energy metabolism.
Saroj Kumar Sah, PhD, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA
Dr Sah holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from Mississippi State University, USA, with a focus on plant molecular biology and plant physiology. His research investigates genes and their metabolic roles, particularly in plant resilience under abiotic stresses like drought, heat, and UV radiation. At the Pennsylvania State University, his postdoctoral work centered on understanding the regulatory mechanisms controlling cell identity in xylem cells, particularly during fiber and pith cell differentiation in Arabidopsis thaliana. Currently based at Brookhaven National Laboratory, Dr Sah employs a multidisciplinary approach, integrating molecular genetics, cell biology, biochemistry, and physiology to explore the complex regulatory network governing lipid metabolism, homeostasis, and storage. Dr Sah's expertise spans plant tissue cultures, genetic transformation, genome editing, proteomics, and bioinformatics. He has made significant contributions to the field with over 20 research articles in prestigious journals, along with book chapters and proceedings. Beyond research, Dr Sah is President of Nexus Institute of Research and Innovation USA and also holds the position of Principal Investigator at Nexus Institute of Research and Innovation (NIRI), Nepal.
Qinlong Zhu, PhD, South China Agricultural University, China
Dr Zhu is a professor of plant molecular biology and biotechnology at South China Agricultural University and previously served as a visiting associate professor at Cornell University (USA). His research focuses on utilizing plant synthetic biology strategies to develop new functional food crops by synthesizing bioactive compounds and improving nutritional quality. His research program is centered on developing genetic engineering tools for plant biosynthetic biology and their breeding applications. Dr Zhu and his colleagues have developed the TransGene Stacking systems for multigene assembly and transformation, as well as genome editing systems for plant metabolic pathway regulation and precision targeted breeding. Using these tools, a series of new functional food crops, such as "purple endosperm rice" and "astaxanthin rice", have been successfully developed by de novo biosynthesizing anthocyanins and astaxanthin in rice endosperm, respectively.
