• Professor, Plant Genetics and Genomics, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 2015-present
• Associate Professor, Plant Genetics and Genomics, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 2009-2015
• Assistant Professor, Plant Genetics and Genomics, Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 2004-2009
• Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis, California, 2002-2004
• Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Plant Pathology and Genetics Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 1998-2001
• Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and Genetics Program, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 1997-1998
• Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Agronomy and Genetics Program, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 1995-1997
• Assistant Wheat Breeder, Nanjing Agricultural Institute, Nanjing, China, 1991-1994
• Graduate Research Assistant, Department of Agronomy, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China, 1988-1991

• Yang S, Wang Q, Fedorova E, Liu J, Qin Q, Zheng Q, Price PA, Pan H, Wang D, Griffitts JS, Bisseling T, Zhu H (2017) Microsymbiont discrimination mediated by a host-secreted peptide in Medicago truncatula. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 114 : 6848
• Wang Q, Yang S, Liu J, Terecskei K, Ábrahám E, Gombár A, Domonkos Á, Szűcs A, Körmöczi P, Wang T, Fodor L, Mao L, Fei Z, Kondorosi É, Kaló P, Kereszt A, Zhu H (2017) Host-secreted antimicrobial peptide enforces symbiotic selectivity in Medicago truncatula. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 114: 6854
• Fan Y, Liu J, Lyu S, Wang Q, Yang S, Zhu H (2017) The soybean Rfg1 gene restricts nodulation by Sinorhizobium fredii USDA193. Frontiers in Plant Science doi: 10.3389/fpls.2017.01548
• Zheng Q, Liu J, Goff B, Dinkins R, Zhu H (2016) Genetic manipulation of miR156 for improvement of biomass production and forage quality in red clover. Crop Science 56: 1-7
• Tang F, Yang S, Zhu H (2016) Functional analysis of alternative transcripts of the soybean Rj2 gene that restricts nodulation with specific rhizobial strains. Plant Biology doi: 10.1111/plb.12442
• Tang F, Yang S, Liu J, Zhu H (2016) Rj4, a gene controlling nodulation specificity in soybeans, encodes a thaumatin-Like protein but not the one previously reported. Plant Physiology 170:26-32
• Liu J, Yang S, Zheng Q, Zhu H (2014) Identification of a dominant gene in Medicago truncatulathat restricts nodulation by Sinorhizobium meliloti strain Rm41. BMC Plant Biology 14:167
• Yang S, Tang F, Zhu H (2014) Alternative splicing in plant immunity. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 15:10424
• Tang F, Yang S, Liu J, Gao M, Zhu H (2014) Fine mapping of the Rj4 locus, a gene controlling nodulation specificity in soybean. Molecular Breeding 33:691
• Chen C, Zhu H (2013) Are common symbiosis genes required for endophytic rice-rhizobial interactions? Plant Signal & Behavior 8(9): e25453

PLS 615 Advanced Plant Genetics and Genomics (3 credits)

Genomics is reshaping the life sciences by providing high-throughput tools to decipher the functions of individual genes and to characterize their regulation and interactions. The last decade has seen tremendous development of genomic resources and technologies in major crops and their models. The intelligent use of these resources and technological innovations will advance our understanding of genome function, allow for prediction of phenotype from genotype, and thus enhance our ability to improve crop production. This course will introduce graduate students to the major contemporary areas of genomics, including, but not limited to, genome mapping, genome sequencing, genome annotation, genome-wide association analysis, marker-assisted selection in plant breeding, genome-wide transcriptional profiling, high throughput forward and reverse genetics, DNA methylation and epigenetics, quantitative trait locus analysis, and the basic bioinformatics tools.

• Ph.D., Genetics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 2001
• M.S., Genetics, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, 1997
• M.S., Statistics and Quantitative Genetics, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China, 1991
• B.S., Agronomy, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China, 1988