UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center

Oranges on trees in a grove at the Citrus Research and Education Center

Laboratory Personnel

Dr. Yu Wang | Associate Professor

Dr. Yu Wang got her Ph.D. at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, and had her postdoc. training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology focusing on "Omics" techniques for early diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Dr. Wang received the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship to work at the Technical University of Munich focusing on taste modulation. Before joining the University of Florida, Dr. Wang was a Flavor Chemistry Manager at Mars Chocolate Inc, working in global R&D directing flavor applications, developing novel flavor profiles and providing technical guidance, etc. She is a huge fan of the X-files and loves kayaking.

Research Topics

Now she focuses more on how to apply machine learning on flavor research and plant metabolomics.

Xin Liu | Chemist III

I am from China, and my major is natural product chemistry. I joined in Dr. Wang's lab in 2020. I am interested in discovering potential flavor compounds from fruits, herbs and other agricultural commodities

Research Topics

Targeted and untargeted metabolomics on orange juices from different rootstocks
Potential flavor compounds from herbs
Isolation and bioactivity evaluation of Polymethoxyflavones from citrus peel
Multi-omics analysis reveals biosynthesis of key flavor compounds in Mango

Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

Outstanding reviewer for RSC Advances (2021)

Photo of Kuikui Chen

Kuikui Chen | Postdoctoral Associate

I come from Guangxi, China. I received my Ph.D. degree in Analysis of Chinese Materia Medica from Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. I joined Dr. Yu Wang's Lab and have been working as a postdoctoral researcher since August 2023. Currently, my projects mainly focus on explaining changes in different physiological states of citrus by targeted, non-targeted metabolomics and multi-omics.

Research Topics

Effects of different photosynthetic efficiency on citrus physiology
Citrus evolution

Qingyan Meng Photo with a dog

Qingyan Meng | Postdoctoral Associate

Dr. Qingyan Meng graduated from the Molecular Plant Science program at Washington State University in 2023, with a Master of Science in Organic Chemistry and a bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Engineering from Southwest Minzu University in China. She joined Dr. Norman Lewis’s lab in 2017, where her Ph.D. research project primarily focused on enzymology, crystallography, and the underlying biochemical mechanisms of various Dirigent Protein (DP) subfamily members. These subfamily members each differentially provide entry into distinct plant phenol natural product classes, such as lignans, lignins, aromatic diterpenoids, and pterocarpans.

Research Topics:

Integrated multi-omics and machine learning for plant science
Exploring the structure and properties of edible proteins

Mamadou Aliou Balde | Postdoctoral Associate

I’m a natural product chemist with experience in plant metabolomics, compound isolation, and characterization by NMR and mass spectrometry. I completed my PhD at Antwerp University in 2021, where my research focused on the characterization of bioactive plant metabolites using bioassay-guided fractionation and dereplication studies (In silico MS/MS identification and Molecular Networking). My postdoc training at Rothamsted Research was dedicated to the characterization of bio-based agricultural products using the metabolomics approach. I joined Dr. Wang's lab as a postdoctoral associate, and my current work deals with the integration of metabolomics and machine learning to characterize flavor-modulating compounds from edible plants.

Yunkyoung Jung | Visiting Scholar

I joined Dr. Wang's laboratory as a visiting scholar and am excited about the innovative research in her lab. I am particularly fascinated by the chemical profiling of food and its application to metabolomics using machine learning, as well as the distribution and metabolism of phytochemicals in the body following food consumption. I have a master's degree in Food Science and a PhD in Biosystem Engineering. I enjoy running and spending time with my family in my free time.

Ling Liu | Lab Assistant

I like gardening, fishing, playing badminton, and traveling around the world.

Miguel Vasconez | Ph.D. Candidate

My name is Miguel Vasconez, I am from Ecuador, and I am a first-year Ph.D. student in Food Science. I will be working over at Lake Alfred starting in summer of 2022 on my research on flavor chemistry. I have a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Ecuador, and an M.Sc. in Food Science and Human Nutrition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I have worked in the Food Industry for over 13 years in different roles related to Food Product Development and Manufacturing. I have a wife and two kids, I enjoy music and sports, traveling to new places, and spending time with my family.

Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean’s Award (2021)

Dongjoo Kim | Ph.D. Student

I received a B.S. degree in Chemistry and Food & Nutrition from Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea, and an M.S. degree in Food Science from the University of Florida. My master's work focused on the chemical compounds (aroma and taste compounds) changes and the sensory aspects, and the correlation between sensory data and the chemical composition of a kombucha product using 'LB8-9' Sugar Belle®, a mandarin hybrid, which is known to be the most Huanglongbing-tolerant cultivar among commercially available varieties. After my master’s work, I started to broaden my research scope to machine learning. Machine learning techniques can be applied to predicting the specific characteristics of foods and food products, which could not be done by conventional methods due to the complexity of the food environment and the size of the data from analytical instruments such as High-resolution UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS/MS.

Research Topics

Flavor analysis of vanilla beans using GC-MS/MS, High-resolution UHPLC-Orbitrap-MS/MS, and Quantitative LC-MS/MS with sensory analysis
Vanilla plant metabolomics of flavor compounds
Isolation of tasting-modulating compounds from edible plants
Implementing machine learning techniques to analyze and understand larger datasets

Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

The Richard F Mathew Memorial Graduate Scholarship, The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Florida (2024)
The William F. Jaggard Memorial Scholarship, The Society of Flavor Chemists (2023)
The Ron H Schmidt Memorial Graduate Scholarship, The Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Florida (2023)
The Graduate School Grinter Fellowship, University of Florida (2022)
Dean’s Match Scholarship, University of Florida (2022)
NAFFS 2021 Scholarship, National Association of Flavors and Food-Ingredient Systems (2021)
Travel Grant, The 134th Annual Meeting of the Florida State Horticultural Society (2021)
The William & Agnes Brown Scholarship, 2020-2021 Food Science and Human Nutrition Graduate Awards, University of Florida. (2021)

Awards, Scholarships, and Fellowships

College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Dean’s Award (2021)

Photo of Hyun Jeong Jung

Hyun Jeong Jung | Ph.D. Student

During my undergraduate studies, I participated in a research project focusing on the development of a novel GC-MS/MS method for quantifying inorganic arsenic in rice. During my master's program, I delved into the analysis of toxic compounds in various foods, with a focus on meat, seafood, and beverages, using HS-SPME-GC-MS. After graduate studies, during my work experience at Bertis Inc., a proteomics-based molecular diagnostics service company, I contributed to biomarker development for early disease diagnosis. My role in the Mass Spectrometry team involved LC-MS/MS peptide analyses for potential biomarkers. In my free time, I enjoy playing badminton and spending time with my family.

UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center

UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center

Laboratory Personnel

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