Julia Chekanova
Visiting Professor (PI)

My name is Julia Chekanova and I came from the USA. My scientific expertise is in RNA biology and regulation of gene expression by non-coding RNAs as well as on the levels of RNA processing in various plants and yeasts. I recently became fascinated by very unusual little aquatic plants called duckweeds, their unusual metabolism and their powerful roles in aquatic environments. These plants are really tiny but they play important roles in feeding aquatic wildlife, participate in purification of freshwater ecosystems from various kinds of environmental pollution and many other roles. These plants also hold immense potential in development of them into water contamination biomarkers, targeted purification of water ecosystems, and also as a food for farmed fish, poultry and other animals. After learning about studies of Professor Hou, who works with these amazing plants at IHB at CAS, it became natural for us to join forces and try to combine our complementary expertise to learn more about these aquatic plants. My sabbatical in Professor Hongwei Hou’s laboratory is really enjoyable. The research conducted in the lab as well as in the other laboratories at IHB is truly impressive. I always knew that CAS is the world top scientific institution, yet I haven’t realized the magnitude of the depth and breadth of various aspects of hydrobiology research conducted at IHB until I arrived here. I’m in awe of the concentration of talent here.

In addition, I was fascinated with Chinese culture and over three millenniums long Chinese history since my childhood. Although I previously visited my former students and my work colleagues in China several times before, all my prior visits were very always short and made me longing to come back. I feel lucky that I’m finally able to fulfill my dream to spend time immersing myself into Chinese culture, learning Chinese customs and enjoying the most delicious food in the world. I’m looking forward to continuing to participate in our exciting scientific project in the Professor Hou laboratory and in a free time enjoy evening walks along the lake and keep discovering the multifaceted endless beauty of Wuhan.