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Min-Yao Jhu
Min-Yao Jhu
Senior Research Scientist
Senior Research Scientist
Uncovering the hidden rules of plant organogenesis and communicating science to create lasting impact.
Uncovering the hidden rules of plant organogenesis and communicating science to create lasting impact.
As a plant developmental biologist, I investigate how plants build specialised organs that underpin symbiotic interactions, including nodules and haustoria. My work combines histology, spatial transcriptomics, and gene network analysis to reveal the principles of organogenesis. Ultimately, I aim to translate these insights into strategies that strengthen crop resilience and promote sustainable agriculture.
As a plant developmental biologist, I investigate how plants build specialised organs that underpin symbiotic interactions, including nodules and haustoria. My work combines histology, spatial transcriptomics, and gene network analysis to reveal the principles of organogenesis. Ultimately, I aim to translate these insights into strategies that strengthen crop resilience and promote sustainable agriculture.
Dr. Min-Yao Jhu is a Senior Research Scientist at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, where she works in President Giles Oldroyd's research group. Her research focuses on understanding and engineering plant organogenesis using spatial transcriptomics and other advanced genomics approaches to uncover the developmental and molecular mechanisms underlying nodule formation in legumes and haustorium development in parasitic plants.
Min-Yao’s scientific journey reflects a sustained interest in plant development and biotic interactions. She received her B.S. in Life Sciences from National Cheng Kung University and her M.S. in Plant Biology from National Taiwan University, where she studied insect gall development on trees and wound-responsive microRNAs in sweet potato. After completing her master’s degree, she worked as a research assistant at Academia Sinica, investigating the regulatory mechanisms of Kranz anatomy development in maize.
She then moved to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. in Plant Biology at the University of California, Davis, under the supervision of Professor Neelima Sinha. Her doctoral research focused on the development of the haustorium in the parasitic plant Cuscuta campestris and its molecular interactions with tomato hosts. In 2021, she joined Professor Giles Oldroyd's group at the University of Cambridge as a postdoctoral researcher, where she pioneered the application of imaging-based spatial transcriptomics to study Medicago nodulation. In 2026, she joined the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center as a Senior Research Scientist, where she continues to investigate the developmental mechanisms underlying symbiotic organogenesis and explore strategies to engineer crops.
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