Jungnam Cho
I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Biosciences at Durham University in the UK. Prior to joining Durham in 2023, I served as a group leader at the Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science, jointly affiliated with the John Innes Centre and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, from 2018 to 2023. My academic journey began at Seoul National University, where I obtained my BSc in 2007 and later completed my PhD in 2013. Following this, I pursued post-doctoral training at the University of Cambridge from 2013 to 2018. In my laboratory in Durham, we focus on investigating transposable elements (TEs). Also known as 'jumping genes' or 'junk DNAs', TEs were historically considered as useless or harmful genetic elements. However, we now understand that they play critical roles in genome evolution and the diversification of gene functions and activities. In particular, transposons have emerged as a primary source of (epi)genomic variation in plants, contributing significantly to the development of important crop traits. Our research ambitions are centered around unraveling the regulatory mechanisms underlying transposon activation and transposition. To achieve this, we employ multidisciplinary approaches of molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and bioinformatics. We utilize model plants such as Arabidopsis and rice to dissect the dynamic crosstalk between host genomes and mobile DNA elements.
Abstracts this author is presenting: