Lab Members

Meng Chen, Ph.D., Principal Investigator

B.S./M.S./Ph.D. Iowa State University; Postdoc, The Salk Institute
Professor of Cell Biology
Department of Botany & Plant Sciences
Teaching: BIOL 107A Molecular Biology, CBNS 101 Cell Biology
Office: Genomics 4234B; Phone: (951) 827-5635
Email: meng.chen@ucr.edu
Joined in November 2007.
CV; Google Scholar; Linkedin; ResearchGate; Web of Science; Academic Tree

Meng (pronounced /məŋ/) started his scientific journey at Iowa State University as a combined BS/MS student in Biochemistry studying enzymology with Prof. Herbert Fromm. During his Ph.D. with Prof. Steve Rodermel, Meng studied chloroplast biogenesis and cloned the YELLOW VARIEGATED 2 (VAR2) gene in Arabidopsis by chromosomal walking. After joining Prof. Joanne Chory‘s lab at the Salk Institute as a postdoctoral research associate in 1999, Meng began to study light sensing in plants, particularly the dynamics and function of the phytochrome B-containing subnuclear membraneless organelles named photobodies. Meng started his lab in 2008 at Duke University, where he continued investigating phytochrome signaling and the function of photobodies. His lab also established padlock-FISH — a fluorescence in situ hybridization method for labeling individual genes — and revealed light-regulated gene repositioning upon gene activation in Arabidopsis. Following a move to UC Riverside in 2015, the Chen lab elucidated a nucleus-to-plastid signaling pathway for controlling chloroplast transcription. Recently, the Chen lab revealed a multi-thermosensor signaling framework for understanding plant responses to warm temperatures (thermomorphogenesis). His research interests broadened to include high-temperature signaling, functional dynamics of nuclear bodies, and nucleus-chloroplast communication.

Juan Du, Ph.D., Postdoc

B.S. China Agricultural University; Ph.D. Oklahoma State University
Email: jdu@ucr.edu
Joined in July 2020.

Research Project: Phytochrome Signaling and Nuclear Organization

Du J. et al. (2024) Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47789-1
Liu W., Lowrey H., Xu A., Leung C.C., Adamchek C., He J., Du J. et al. (2024) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121(25):e2408322121.
Kim R.J.*, Fan D.*, He J.*, Kim K., Du J., Chen M. (2024) Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47790-8
Du J., Chen M. (2024) Methods Mol Biol DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3814-9_10
Sang Q., Fan L., Liu T., Qiu Y., Du J. et al. (2023) Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-36774-9

Jiangman He, Ph.D., Postdoc

B.S. South China Agricultural University; Ph.D. Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (China); Postdoc. UC Riverside
Email: jiangman@ucr.edu
Joined in August 2020.

Research Project: Phytochrome Signaling

Liu W., Lowrey H., Xu A., Leung C.C., Adamchek C., He J. et al. (2024) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121(25):e2408322121.
Kim R.J.*, Fan D.*, He J.* et al. (2024) Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47790-8
Qiu Y., Pasoreck E.K., Yoo C.Y., He J. et al. (2021) Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-22313-x
Yoo C.Y.*, He J.*, Sang Q.* et al. (2021) Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-25909-5

De Fan, Ph.D., Postdoc

B.S. Lanzhou University (China), Ph.D. Peking University (China)
Email:
Joined in August 2022.

Research Project: Phytochrome Signaling and Thermosensing

Fan D. et al. (2025) Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60498-7
Kim R.J.*, Fan D.* et al. (2024) Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47790-8
Fan D., Chen M. (2024) Methods Mol Biol DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3814-9_2

Nan Xu, Graduate Student

Email: nan.xu1@ucr.edu
Joined in April 2023.

Research Project: Phytochrome signaling and chloroplast biogenesis

Fan D., Hu W., Xu N. et al. (2025) Nat Commun DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-60498-7

Josie Tam, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Biochemistry, UCR Class 2025
Email: jtam030@ucr.edu
Joined in April 2023.

Nora Flynn, Ph.D., Postdoc

Ph.D. UC Riverside
Email: nora.flynn@email.ucr.edu
Joined in July 2023.

Flynn N. et al. (2024) Plastid transcription. Nucleic Acids & Mol Biol vol 37. DOI:10.1007/978-3-031-70098-9_1.
Flynn N. (2024) Building a better blueprint for bolting. Plant Cell DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koae240.
Flynn N. (2024) During long days, HY5a keeps dormancy away. Plant Cell DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koae037.
Flynn N. (2023) Narrowing numerous nascent RNA-sequencing strategies. Plant Cell DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad243.
Flynn N. (2023) A new phase of identifying RNA-binding proteins: Plant phase extraction. Plant Cell DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad153.
Flynn N. (2023) Don’t be blue: Pure green light spurs brassinosteroid signaling. Plant Cell DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koad040.
Hang R., Xu Y., Wang X., Hu H., Flynn N. et al. (2023). Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2301081120.
Fan L., Gao B., Xu Y., Flynn N. et al. (2022) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A DOI:10.1073/pnas.220841511.
Hu H.*, Flynn N.*, and Chen X. (2021) Discovery, processing and potential role of noncanonical caps in RNA. In: Jurga, S., Barciszewski, J. (eds) Epitranscriptomics. RNA Technologies, vol 12. Springer, Cham. (*equal contribution)
Hu H., Flynn N., et al. (2021) Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A DOI: 10.1073/pnas.202559511.