Xiyu Ma, PhD
Assistant Professor
Plant Molecular Immunology
4024 THROCKMORTON,
1712 CLAFLIN ROAD
Manhattan, KS
66506-5500
Ph: (785) 532-6176
Biography
Dr. Xiyu Ma grew up in Yunnan, China, and earned his B.S. in Life Sciences from the University of Science and Technology of China. He completed his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics at Texas A&M University, where his graduate work and first postdoctoral training focused on plant innate immune signaling, particularly the roles of post-translational modifications such as ubiquitination and phosphorylation. Dr. Ma then conducted a second postdoctoral fellowship at Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, studying how human innate immunity is regulated by post-translational modifications such as proteolytic cleavage.
Education
- Ph.D., Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, 2017
- B.S., Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, 2010
Research
The Ma lab at K-State is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying plant innate immune signaling and to develop innovative strategies for engineering disease-resistant crops. We integrate biochemistry, proteomics, genetics, and cell biology to investigate how plant innate immunity is regulated by various post-translational modifications such as phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and proteolytic cleavage. And based on the molecular mechanisms, we design novel approaches to generate plants with broad-spectrum and durable resistance to pathogens.