Highlights
Awards
Grant Award
Professional Enhancement for Emerging Researchers (PEER) Grant from Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, Auburn University was offered to support an independent research project on tissue-specific cytokinin function in tomato.
IPGSA 2025 Travel Award
In July 2025, I was honored to receive a Travel Award from the International Plant Growth Substances Association (IPGSA) to attend and present my research at the IPGSA 2025 Conference held in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA (July 15–19, 2025).
“Weighted Gene Co-expression Network (WGCNA) Reveals the cis-Zeatin Regulation in Delaying Leaf Senescence in Tomato Under Salt Stress.”
In this work, I used transcriptomic data and Weighted Gene Co-expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to identify gene networks associated with cis-zeatin mediated regulation of leaf senescence under salt stress conditions. By analyzing patterns of gene co-expression, I was able to uncover key regulatory modules and candidate genes involved in stress response and hormone signaling.
This experience allowed me to share my research with an international audience, engage in discussions with experts in plant hormone biology, expand my scientific network, and strengthen my presentation and data interpretation skills.
Receiving this travel award was both an honor and an encouragement, recognizing the impact and potential of my research in plant hormone regulation and stress biology.
Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation Award
In March 2024, I was honored to receive the Best Graduate Student Oral Presentation Award from the American Society of Plant Biologists – Southern Section at their annual meeting held in Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA.
During this conference, I presented my research titled: “cis-Zeatin Delays Leaf Senescence in Solanum lycopersicum Under Salt Stress – Physiological and Transcriptomic Analysis.”
In this work, I explored how a lesser-studied form of cytokinin called cis-Zeatin influences leaf aging in tomato plants under salt stress conditions. While many studies focus on other types of cytokinins, cis-zeatin has often been overlooked. My research demonstrated that this hormone plays an important regulatory role in delaying leaf senescence, particularly when plants are exposed to stressful environments such as high salinity.
By combining physiological measurements with transcriptomic analysis, I was able to identify how gene expression changes in response to salt stress and how cis-zeatin modulates these molecular pathways. This work contributes to a deeper understanding of plant hormone regulation and stress resilience that can ultimately help improve crop productivity under challenging environmental conditions.
Receiving this award was a meaningful milestone in my PhD journey, recognizing both the scientific contribution and the impact of communicating research effectively.
Publications
First Co-Author Publication
My first co-author research article has been published, titled:
“trans-Zeatin N-glucosides Can Delay Salt-Accelerated Leaf Senescence in Arabidopsis thaliana.”
Using physiological assessments and molecular analyses, we explored how cytokinin metabolism influences the progression of leaf senescence when plants are exposed to salinity. This work contributes to a growing body of research that challenges previous assumptions about cytokinin derivatives and expands our understanding of hormone regulation in plant stress biology.
Being part of this publication was an important milestone in my PhD journey, strengthening my experience in collaborative research, data analysis, and scientific writing.
Outreach
I volunteered at the Summer Science Institute held at Auburn University in 2025, working with high school students to detect transgenic plants using molecular biology techniques. Through hands-on experiments, I guided students in the scientific process such as DNA extraction and helped foster their curiosity and excitement about plant science.
These outreach activities reflect my commitment to sharing knowledge beyond the lab and inspiring the next generation of scientists.
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| Destination Stem 2025 |
Mentoring
