The Queller-Strassmann lab recently welcomed its newest member as Dr. Heng Liang joined us as a postdoctoral researcher in the Spring. Heng received her PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2023. During her PhD, she studied three genes in the DNA synthesis pathway of D. discoideum that show signatures of bacterial origin. Her work suggests a previously unknown case of horizontal transfer in genes key for general cellular function in our focal eurkaryote. Heng plans to further explore aspects of the relationship of D. discoideum with bacteria by directly studying the social amoeba’s ability as a predator, in line with the lab’s current NSF grant. Welcome Heng!

Learn more about her work here.