Sen Xu

Dr. Sen Xu is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri. He leads the Xu Lab, focusing on evolutionary and environmental genetics using Daphnia as a model system. His research addresses mechanisms of asexual reproduction, meiotic recombination, CRISPR-Cas genetic editing, and environmental mutagen effects.

• Education:
• PhD, 2011, University of Windsor
• MS, 2005, University of Amsterdam
• BS, 2003, Ocean University of China

Research interests include understanding sexual reproduction costs, genetic mechanisms of parthenogenesis, recombination rate evolution, CRISPR-based gene editing in Daphnia, and genomic responses to environmental mutagens. The lab aims to create 1,000 Daphnia mutants to study gene function.

Awards:

• University Award for Outstanding Research Achievement, 2022 (University of Texas at Arlington)
• College Award for Outstanding Research Achievement, 2021 (University of Texas at Arlington)

Lab activities involve high-throughput genomics, bioinformatics, and gene editing. Future work includes expanding CRISPR tools and analyzing mutagen impacts on genome integrity.