About
Tianci Zhao is a Postdoc researcher at the University of Groningen in the Faculty of Science and Engineering, affiliated with both the Tiedge Lab - Functional Genetics and Genomics and the Van Veen Lab - Evolutionary Plant Ecophysiology. Their work focuses on plant-microbiome interactions for sustainable agriculture.
- Education: PhD in Plant-Microbiome Interactions (University of Groningen, 2025)
Research Interests: Tianci Zhao investigates how mutualistic plant-microbiome interactions can mitigate climate change impacts and conventional agriculture practices. Key areas include integrating plant genotypes with soil microbiomes, studying root exudate profiles, and exploring phage roles in drought resilience. They aim to reduce agriculture's environmental footprint.
Publications: Recent work spans Trends in Plant Science (2025) and Nature Microbiology (2024), covering microbiome perspectives on Grime's triangle, soil food web biogeochemistry, and soil viral workshops. Their research aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goals for environmental sustainability.
Projects: Tianci Zhao was a key contributor to the PotatoMETAbiome project (2019-2023), focusing on sustainable potato breeding and microbial interactions under abiotic stress conditions.
