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Molecular mechanisms of anti-diabetic and anti-Alzheimer’s effects of botanical extracts in C. elegans. Molecular detection of pathogens and toxins. Plant biotechnology.I am interested in using C. elegans model system to study the anti-diabetic and anti-Alzheimer’s (AZ) effects of plant extracts from health food and medicinal plants. Mutant worms with defects in insulin signaling pathway and survival and transgenic worms expressing AZ biomarkers are used to screen plant extracts for their life-extending effects in these worms. RNAi (RNA interference) library of C. elegans is employed to further delineate the underlying molecular mechanisms of plant extracts’ anti-diabetic and anti-AZ characteristics.
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) technology can not only be used to study bi-molecular interaction such as antigen and antibody, it can also be used to rapidly, sensitively and specifically detect microbial organisms and toxic compounds. I am interested in developing portable SPR technology that can be used to detect quarantine plant pathogens (viruses, bacteria and fungi) in import and export plant materials, human pathogens that contaminate food (e.g., Shiga toxin-producing E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella and Listeria) and microbial toxins present in food and the environment.
I am interested in using plant biotechnology to genetically engineer plants to produce disease resistant crops and to study disease resistance mechanisms. We are engineering plants to endogenously express enzymes that will facilitate the conversion of starch and cellulosic biomass into bio-ethanol. We are also producing transgenic plants expressing anti-microbial peptides that can potentially be used in food packaging materials. View Dr. Di's publications in Pub Med |
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