Benjamin Cole, Research Scientist
Dr. Cole is interested in studying how plants interact with their environment. Prior to joining the Joint Genome Institute his focus was primarily on how plants interpret different light cues by altering their growth program, and on how plants coordinate their gene expression with light and temperature oscillations throughout the day. At the Joint Genome Institute, Dr. Cole’s research focus has been on understanding how microbes can colonize plant roots, focusing on genetic components required for effective colonization. In addition, Dr. Cole is focusing on how individual plant cells respond to their biotic environment using emerging single-cell characterization technologies (scRNA-seq, Spatial Transcriptomics).
Education
- University of California, San Diego (PhD, 2011)
- Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (B.S., 2006)