Yi Ding

Dr Yi Ding is a Lecturer at the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, since December 2019. He is affiliated with the Sydney Institute of Agriculture and focuses on functional genomics of cereal rust pathogens.

• PhD: Max Planck Institute (Marburg, Germany)
• Postdoctoral Experience: Boyce Thompson Institute (Cornell University, USA), CSIRO (Australia)

His research spans plant-microbe interactions, emphasizing molecular signaling, fungal effectors, and membrane transporters. He investigates how rust fungi evolve virulence against host resistance genes, using molecular insights from both host and pathogen perspectives.

His recent publications highlight work in:

• Comparative genomics of cereal rust pathogens
• Transcriptomic and metabolomic responses to fungal infection
• Nitric oxide signaling in host-pathogen interactions
• Population genetics of rust virulence evolution
• Endophytic and mycorrhizal symbiosis mechanisms

Dr Ding supervises PhD student Haixia GUAN and is involved in projects addressing agricultural sustainability, food security, and plant disease resistance. He received a 2023 USDA grant for research on wheat rust resistance and avirulence mechanisms.