Research Interests
I am
fascinated by networks of interactions among species, especially their dynamics.
I focus on studying plant-mediated insect/microbe interactions. How do these
two types of plant exploiters affect each other's performance on the plant?
Is there a partnership between them in nature to share a common food source?
Could this partnership affect their host choice and, in the long run, host
range? What is the best strategy for plants to defend themselves with limited
resources? I am interested in both the biochemical mechanisms underlying
interactions and the ecological forces that promote and maintain them. The
model study system that I use to address some of these questions includes:
a) the plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, b) a generalist insect (cabbage
looper), Trichoplusia ni, and c) a bacterial plant pathogen, Pseudomonas
syringae.
Hobbies
Reading
(which I haven't done for several years but insist is still my primary interest),
deep thinking, listening to music, chatting with friends, looking at beautiful
things including people, and experiencing things that make me feel like I'm
flying such as swimming, dancing, and rollerblading.
My major accomplishment so far : my two-month-old daughter Amy Yuqi Wu!
She was born on August 6, weighing 7 lbs 2 oz and measuring about 20 inches.
Jianping
Cui 
