Keguang Cheng
Evolution · Biodiversity · Plant biology
I am an M.S. student in Biology at New York University, with a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Beijing Forestry University. I am interested in how plants evolve, develop, and respond to their environments, and how this knowledge can inform biodiversity conservation.
My experience combines comparative genomics, population genomics, and RNA-seq analysis. I have studied NLR immune-receptor genes across gymnosperms, explored their expression during pathogen infection, and contributed to population-genomic research on the living fossil Tetracentron sinense.
I am currently conducting research at the New York Botanical Garden, supervised by Cecilia Zumajo, on organ identity and development in the aquatic plant Podostemum ceratophyllum. I developed the literature review and computational analysis plan, established a reference transcriptome, and screened developmental regulators to guide further analysis of organ homology. Explore the project →
For doctoral study, I hope to connect evolutionary and ecological questions with genetic and physiological approaches, building on my experience in plant genomics.
Research interests
Education
New York University — M.S. in Biology (General Biology), 2025–present · Expected May 2027
Beijing Forestry University — B.S. in Biological Sciences (National Science Base), July 2024