About

Sisi Chen is a Ph.D. student in Dr. Xingbo Wu’s Ornamental Plant Breeding and Genetics lab. Her research focuses on evaluating the genetic and phenotypic variation of tropical hibiscus. She is also developing genomic tools for breeding tropical hibiscus.

Bioinformatics and Genetics

Originally Sisi is from Quanzhou, China, a town on the southeast side of the country with weather very similar to that found in south Florida. For her Master’s, she used bioinformatics to study obligate mutualism—going back in time to note the evolutionary process of the leafflower (Glochidion lanceolarium) and its unique insect pollinator, leafflower moth (Epicephala lanceolaruim). However, for her PhD, Sisi wanted her research to have real life impact. She combined her bioinformatics skills with her passion for plant breeding, she shifted her focus to the genetic improvement of ornamental plants.

Genetics and the Tropical Hibiscus

Now, Sisi is studying the genetic diversity of the tropical hibiscus collection. Moreover, she is developing the first tropical hibiscus genome using bioinformatics. These pre-breeding efforts will provide critical genomic resources. Future plant breeders and geneticists can use these resources to develop new hibiscus varieties with greater efficiency and precision.

Continued Research

Moving forward, Sisi would like to continue her work in molecular breeding by exploring the genetics and genomics of various crops. To learn more about Sisi’s work on tropical hibiscus, watch this video.

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