Jing-Ke Weng presented a talk on the Evolutionary Origin of Acutumine Biosynthesis in Menispermaceae Plants at Plant Biology 2023, and spoke with ASPB #PlantBio2023 conference correspondent Charlay Wood about the work after the talk. Here is the interview transcript.
We are excited to announce that Jing-Ke Weng has been appointed as a Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology in the College of Science, and of Bioengineering in the College of Engineering at Northeastern University, effective July 3, 2023. Our laboratory will complete its relocation to the new EXP building on Northeastern’s Boston campus later in 2023. Meanwhile, Jing-Ke Weng will assume the role as the Inaugural Director tasked with building the brand-new Institute for Plant-Human Interface (IPHI) from the ground up. The mission of IPHI is to deepen our understanding of plant biology and the plant-human interactions that significantly influence human health and sustainability on Earth. IPHI is committed to devising sustainable strategies that benefit both plants and humans, and to fostering the development of future scientists and engineers in this critical field.
What’s in traditional Chinese herbal medicine, and do its prescriptions work? Scientists are untangling the chemical secrets of ancient recipes. An article by Shi En Kim on C&EN featuring Weng Lab research.
Colin Kim et al. report the structural and mechanistic basis underlying how coumarin synthase (COSY), an enzyme that plants use to make agriculturally and medicinally important molecules called coumarins, does its job. See the press release here.
In the hunt for a food allergy cure, Food Allergy Science Initiative (FASI) researcher works to unlock the mystery of traditional medicine using modern science. Jing-Ke discusses his recent work at FASI.
Our work on sporopollenin structure, evolution, biosynthesis, and environmental degradation featured by Quanta Magazine. Read the full article here.
A pain-causing compound in the Australian stinging tree has applications for cancer treatment, but it’s difficult to harvest enough to study. Whitehead Institute scientists present a way to synthesize the compound in the leaves of harmless tobacco plants, and potentially in a culture dish. Read the news release here.
A Climate Grand Challenges flagship project aims to reduce agriculture-driven emissions while making food crop plants heartier and more nutritious. Read MIT news here.
The Weng lab research on plant specialized metabolism is recently featured on the Whitehead Institute “Multimedia series: an energetic pursuit“. Click here to read the full article.
From Parkinson’s to Alzheimer’s, neurodegenerative diseases are on the rise — yet few therapies exist to combat them. That’s why the Collaborative Pairs program at CZI’s Neurodegeneration Challenge Network (NDCN) is bringing together scientists to explore new ideas and new approaches. Whitehead Institute members Jing-Ke Weng and Ankur Jain recently received support from the CZI Collaboratve Pairs program to find new ways to study and treat neurodegeneration by harnessing plant cells and the rich diversity of molecules those cells contain. Learn more here.
