Last Updated on June 12, 2023 by Caroline Warwick
Heqiang Huo, assistant professor at the Mid-Florida Research and Education Center, has been awarded the UF Office of the Provost’s Excellence Award for Assistant Professors.
This prestigious award is for assistant professors who have a high performing research program as demonstrated by securing external grants, training both undergraduate and graduate students, producing quality publications, and creating national and international impacts with research. The recognition includes a $5,000 fiscal award in support of the faculty member’s research programs that can be used to fund travel, equipment, graduate students, or other research-related expenses.
“I am honored to receive recognition from the Office of the Provost, UF/IFAS and my colleagues in relation to our research program.” Huo said, and he also added “This award also reflects the exceptional leadership role of my center, my department, the UF/IFAS administration, and our collective dedication to advancing research and innovation”.
Huo oversees the Huo Lab, a laboratory of molecular biology, biotechnology and plant breeding, at MREC. His research aims to breed stress-resilient horticultural crops by using model plant systems to understand plant response to environmental stresses, developing biotechnology tools and evaluating germplasm for better stress tolerance and plant quality.
Huo Lab is also home to one of the largest begonia collections in the world, with over 105 species and 150 unique cultivars thanks to donations from germplasm centers, botanical gardens, and private begonia enthusiasts.
“I could not win this without the contributions from my postdoctoral researchers, graduate and undergraduate students, staff and interns as well as the continuous support from my colleagues and administrational teams at the Department of Environmental Horticulture and MREC,” Huo said. “We are all celebrating today.”
More information on the Excellence Award for Assistant Professors can be found on their website.
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