How do cells within plant roots respond to the multitude of stresses they face in the world?  From cell type molecular signatures to networks – Siobhan Brady tries to understand and harness these adaptive responses to help tackle current and future environmental challenges. Research in the Brady lab focuses on understanding how a network of transcriptional interactions regulates tissue development and function. Projects in the lab range from characterizing xylem and cortex cell development  in response to the environment in Arabidopsis thaliana, Sorghum bicolor, Solanum lycopersicum and the drought-adapted Solanum pennelii to determining regulatory networks underlying various components of central and specialized metabolism.

Ian Korf develops bioinformatics solutions to help tackle problems - both large and small - in the fast-moving field of genomics. Much of the research in his lab builds on collaborations with others, both at UC Davis and also further afield. The diverse nature of these activities can often make it seem like that there is very little in common between the different research projects. However, the one thing that unites all of the work is our desire to produce tools and to provide analyses that help make sense of DNA and protein sequences, and which help turn those sequences into stories.