Alice Y. Cheung

Alice Y. Cheung is a Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UMass Amherst, specializing in plant reproductive biology and signaling mechanisms. She earned her Ph.D. from Yale University and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard.

Her research deciphers signaling strategies governing plant growth and reproduction, focusing on RAC/ROP GTPase-mediated pathways and FERONIA receptor kinase networks. Key investigations include pollen-pistil interactions during fertilization, regulation of polarized pollen tube growth, and extracellular signaling mechanisms involving pectin-RALF phase separation.

Recent work has revealed how FERONIA-BUPS receptor complexes regulate pollen tube integrity and sperm release, with implications for preventing polyspermy. Her lab also studies FERONIA-LLG1 co-receptor complexes that coordinate multiple growth-regulatory pathways.

Honors:

• ASPB Legacy Founding Member

She collaborates internationally on plant receptor kinase functions and leads investigations into signal transduction using biochemical, molecular, and biophysical approaches.