Kong Wong
Incoming Assistant Professor in Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech. Plant Holobiome Engineering & Ecosystem Dynamics (PHEED) lab🌱
USDA-NIFA Postdoc @ Danforth Center | PhD Georgia Tech | BS Carnegie Mellon (he/him) 🏳️🌈
- Reposted by Kong WongNearly 2000 National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine members including Danforth Center President and CEO, Jim Carrington, PhD, signed an open letter urging Congress to restore funding to federal agencies decimated by recent cuts. loom.ly/lnjkm0o
- Reposted by Kong WongThe CDC has literally been gutted today. There’s no need for “April Fools” when reality is a nightmare for every human on this planet. Thousand of scientists fired. Entire departments erased. 1/
- Reposted by Kong Wong
- Reposted by Kong WongCorn is a C4 plant therefore…
- Reposted by Kong Wong🌽 A team led by Andrea Eveland, PhD, has identified key genetic factors in maize pleiotropy. The study reveals a way to decouple traits that are closely intertwined, paving the way for smarter crop breeding: loom.ly/HTtocoQ @nature.com
- Reposted by Kong WongNicola Patron, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge. Her group use synthetic biology approaches to investigate plant gene expression & metabolism. Of Trinidadian descent, Nicola was born and educated in the U.K. Full profile: buff.ly/3EWYWKs
- Even though it's no longer black history month, I wanted to reamplify an effort from my colleague Dr. Kevin Cox to spotlight black plant scientists. It's great seeing some of my colleagues at @danforthcenter.bsky.social and @virginiatech.bsky.social being highlighted! plantae.org/2025-black-h...
- Reposted by Kong WongOur latest article on biological nitrogen fixation on the aerial roots of sorghum has been published in @plosbiology.org. We thank the @energygov.bsky.social for supporting this exciting project. journals.plos.org/plosbiology/...
- Reposted by Kong Wong[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by Kong WongAnother lawsuit challenging NIH cuts of indirect costs, this time from AAMC and groups representing medical centers, hospitals, public health schools
- Reposted by Kong Wong
- Looking forward to Rhizosphere 6 this summer. But for now, time to work on everything but the abstract until February 28th. 🙃
- Rhizosphere 6 meeting in the middle of the summer in Edinburgh 🏴 www.rhizo6.org/home
- Reposted by Kong WongThanks to @philipcball.bsky.social for the shoutout. Good piece. www.chemistryworld.com/opinion/scie...
- Reposted by Kong WongUsing the top-tier imaging capabilities of the Danforth Center’s Advanced Bioimaging Laboratory, researchers have identified a new tool that could help soybean farmers protect their crops from a common costly pest. 🔬Learn more: loom.ly/E1Pxnk0
- Abstract submission portal is open for our session focused on "Technology for Next Generation Agriculture and Plant Biotechnology" at the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Annual Meeting this November in Boston, MA. Abstract submissions portal: aiche.confex.com/aiche/2025/p...
- Reposted by Kong WongInterested in computational NMR? Join us in beautiful Switzerland in June! Many slots for selected talks and great hiking opportunities. GRC conference 1-6th of June with GRS ( @chrisdkolloff.bsky.social and Stase) on 30.05. please share @nmr900.bsky.social www.grc.org/computationa...
- Reposted by Kong WongCareer Advice | Trans Allyship in Academia Today What it means to be an ally has changed, Chelsea Thompto writes. #HigherEd #EDUSky #AcademicSky bit.ly/4amhPlA
- I'll probably be an outlier as a researcher that switched from an engineering PhD to a plant biology postdoc, but it was fun to reflect on my journey into plant biology. #academicsky
- A survey on why people want to study and work with plants: please participate and share <3 forms.gle/btg9GP1L3CTh...
- Reposted by Kong WongSeems like a fitting first post here: the interest form for GSA's E&I Committee is now open! Forms are due by Dec 6, 2024, and new member invites will go out before the end of the year. Spread the word! www.surveymonkey.com/r/7PDJKWN
- Reposted by Kong WongNew Editorial: "Alternate routes to gene functions" rdcu.be/d0IB9 The functions of many genes in model plants are unknown. Traditional methods to infer function are showing their limitations, but other approaches are emerging. #PlantScience
- Reposted by Kong WongFor those who are in #STL or want to interact with the St. Louis Agtech ecosystem - here is our starter pack: go.bsky.app/MxfEHdo Message 39 North if are in the region and want to be added to the pack.
- Reposted by Kong WongIn our latest work, we provide molecular insights into the age-dependent morphological changes occurring in the root meristem during phase change. Perseverance over many years by BaoJun Yang and Yanbiao Sun. Generous funding by ERC, FWO, VIB and UGent #plantscience www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
- Reposted by Kong WongIn a couple weeks you're all going to meet the 16-year-old trans girl who's challenge to a ban on gender-affirming medical care is being heard at SCOTUS and I'm going to need you all to 1) be loud and thankful for how badass she's being and 2) fight for her like your life depends on it
- Reposted by Kong WongIt's timely to highlight the life & work of computer scientist Lynn Conway. In the late 1960s, she transitioned from male to female and was sacked by IBM as a result. For some years, she went underground and, for the rest of her career, worked as a woman - herstory unknown.
- Reposted by Kong WongFind more #STL #PlantScience and #AgTech Innovators here! DM us if you want to be added to the starter pack. go.bsky.app/MxfEHdo
- Reposted by Kong WongIn Nature Reviews Microbiology: "Cross-kingdom nutrient exchange in the plant–arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus–bacterium continuum" rdcu.be/dZWnI
- Reposted by Kong WongNew Bluesky friends --following lots or people is key over here to make your timeline lively, but do be careful about immediately re-following everyone who appears. A well-known "race-scientist" and modern eugenicist from the other place just followed me--his profile looks innocuous but.....
- Reposted by Kong WongBlueSky feels like this lately.
- Interested in plant-microbe interactions and biochemical processes underlying them. Come join my lab, the Plant Holobiome Engineering & Ecosystem Dynamics (PHEED) lab, at Virginia Tech beginning Fall 2025. See images for more details about the fully funded graduate student positions!
- Reposted by Kong WongIn Nature Reviews Genetics: "Plant pattern recognition receptors: from evolutionary insight to engineering" rdcu.be/dZPdL ...summarizes both established and innovative approaches to leverage genomic data and translate resulting evolutionary insights into engineering PRR recognition specificities.
- Reposted by Kong WongTrue Even better way to not lose soil carbon: don’t convert any more natural ecosystems to agriculture There’s a much bigger soil carbon difference between “farming” and “no farming” than there is between “farming” and “improved farming”
- Wish I had known about BlueSky starter packs when I was first setting up this account. It would have saved me so much time searching for colleagues one-by-one on here. 😮💨 Excited to add to follow lots of new accounts in biology. Link for others blueskydirectory.com/starter-pack...
- Reposted by Kong WongSuper excited to announce a cluster hire in plant biology at UNC's Biology Dept; THREE faculty searches, two in plant molecular biology writ broadly & one in Plant Evolutionary Biology 1/n please RT 🧪 Molecular - unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/288... Evolutionary - unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/288...
- Reposted by Kong WongOne more week to apply! We are recruiting a postdoc to work on the evolutionary genetics of admixture in maize and teosinte.
