Polly Yingshan Hsu

Polly Yingshan Hsu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at Michigan State University (MSU) and holds an additional appointment as Assistant Professor in the BioMolecular Science Gateway. She is a regular faculty member in the Molecular Plant Sciences, Genetics & Genome Sciences, and Cell & Molecular Biology graduate programs, underscoring her integrative role in plant biology research and education.

Education

• Ph.D. 2013, Plant Biology, University of California, Davis (Advisor: Stacey Harmer)
• M.S. 2006, Genetics, National Yang-Ming University, Taiwan (Advisor: Yi-Fang Tsay)
• B.S. 2004, Botany, National Taiwan University, Taiwan

Research Interests

Dr. Hsu’s laboratory investigates how plants rapidly adjust gene expression at the translational level to cope with predictable and unpredictable environmental challenges. By employing ribosome profiling (Ribo-seq) in Arabidopsis and tomato, her team maps the translatome under diurnal cycles and abiotic stresses, especially those mediated by the hormone abscisic acid (ABA). A second major thrust is the discovery of bioactive peptides encoded by small ORFs (sORFs) that act as signaling molecules, integrating developmental and environmental cues. The group also pioneers experimental and computational toolkits—including ggRibo and RiboPlotR—to enhance the precision and accessibility of plant translational studies.

Recent Publication Trends

Across the last fifteen publications, Hsu and colleagues have progressively refined ribosome-profiling protocols to achieve super-resolution mapping of translation initiation sites, uncovered thousands of upstream ORFs and sORFs, and provided community tools for data visualization. Their work spans methodological innovation, mechanistic dissection of translational control, and integrative reviews that frame the broader significance of translational regulation in plant biology.

Scientific Awards & Recognition

• Featured in The Plant Cell and Plantae for super-resolution ribosome profiling work (2024)
• Invited review in ASPB centennial celebration compendium, The Plant Cell (2024)
• Top 10 most-read article in Trends in Plant Science (2014)
• eLife “Editor’s choice” and F1000 Recommended Article (2013)

Advising & Grant Activity

Dr. Hsu actively mentors graduate students from the BioMolecular Science, Plant Biology, and related programs at MSU. She is currently recruiting postdoctoral researchers, technicians, and undergraduate researchers to expand projects on translational regulation and peptide signaling. The lab is funded by federal agencies and institutional grants that support methodological development and mechanistic studies of plant-environment interactions.

Laboratory & Team

The Hsu Lab is located in 319A Biochemistry at Michigan State University. The interdisciplinary team combines molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry, and computational biology to dissect translational control and peptide signaling in plants. The lab website (https://sites.google.com/view/polly-hsu-lab/home) provides additional resources, protocols, and open positions.