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/) began his scientific training at Iowa State University as a combined B.S./M.S. student in biochemistry, studying enzymology with Prof. Herbert Fromm. For his Ph.D. with Prof. Steve Rodermel, he investigated chloroplast biogenesis and cloned the Arabidopsis YELLOW VARIEGATED 2 (VAR2) gene by chromosomal walking. In 1999, he joined Prof. Joanne Chory’s lab at the Salk Institute, where he shifted to plant light sensing and launched a long-term research program on photobodies, phytochrome B (phyB)–containing subnuclear membraneless organelles. His lab helped establish photobodies as a central organizing feature of phyB signaling, defining the molecular requirements for phyB nuclear body localization and identifying core signaling components and structural determinants that govern photobody formation and dynamics. This line of research further revealed how photobodies implement a two-compartment signaling logic, partitioning opposing phyB outputs between the condensate and surrounding nucleoplasm to regulate transcription factor activity and downstream gene expression, and how light and temperature quantitatively tune photobody behavior.

Meng launched his independent laboratory in 2008 at Duke University, where he continued dissecting phytochrome signaling and photobody function while expanding into nuclear organization. During this period, his group developed padlock-FISH, enabling labeling of individual gene loci, and uncovered light-regulated gene repositioning during transcriptional activation in Arabidopsis. After moving to UC Riverside in 2015, the Chen lab elucidated a nucleus-to-plastid signaling pathway that controls chloroplast transcription during seedling establishment. More recently, the lab defined a multisensor thermosensing framework for warm-temperature responses (thermomorphogenesis). His research now centers on high-temperature signaling, functional dynamics of nuclear condensates, and nucleus–chloroplast communication, with the broader goal of uncovering general principles by which spatially organized signaling reprograms gene expression and development.

Juan Du, Ph.D., Assistant Project Scientist

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.* He J.* et al. (2026) Nat Commun 10.1038/s41467-026-73929-w
Du J.*, Fan D.*, He J.*, Chen M. (2026) Plant Physiol 10.1093/plphys/kiag058
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., Assistant Project Scientist

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

Du J.* He J.* et al. (2026) Nat Commun 10.1038/s41467-026-73929-w
Du J.*, Fan D.*, He J.*, Chen M. (2026) Plant Physiol 10.1093/plphys/kiag058
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

Du J.*, Fan D.*, He J.*, Chen M. (2026) Plant Physiol 10.1093/plphys/kiag058
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.