Dr. Julie Kang

Associate Professor

Dr. Julie Kang
Location

Office - MSH 091

Research Lab - MSH 009 

Phone
(319) 273-7152

Directory Contact

Dr. Julie Kang

Associate Professor

Education
  • Ph.D. (2005) Department of Botany, University of Toronto, Canada. Collaborative Program in Developmental Biology.
  • B. Sc. (1999) Biological Sciences (Major: Biology, Minor: Zoology), University of Toronto, Canada.
  • Honors B.A. (1996) Humanities (Major: Studio/Fine Arts, Minor: Art History), McMaster University, Canada.
Teaching Interests

Developmental Plant Anatomy, Plant Morphology and Evolution, Light Microcscopy Methods in Biology, Cell Structure and Function

Research Interests

My research program is to understand the evolution and homology of leaf shape and vein pattern. We use a variety of plant species to investigate this correlation. Some of our projects include:

  1. Investigating the evolution of compound and simple leaves in the genus Ampelopsis (Vitaceae). Homologous structures are studied using histological, molecular, and morphometric techniques.
  2. Analyzing vein pattern in compound leaves of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). Vascular marker genes, AtHB-8::GUS and DR5::VENUS, is used to visualize developing vascular strands so that vein pattern can be mapped during leaf development.
  3. Morning glory leaf mutants are analyzed to determine how morphogenic competency along the blade margin changes based on leaf shape.
Professional Accomplishments