Hailing Jin

Biosketch

Dr. Hailing Jin is a Cy Mouradick Chair Professor in the Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology at the University of California, Riverside. She earned her BS in Genetics from Wuhan University and her PhD in Molecular Biology from the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology & Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She was a postdoctoral scholar in Prof. Cathie Martin’s lab at the John Innes Center UK and in Prof. Barbara Baker’s lab at the University of California Berkeley. Dr. Jin joined the Department of Microbiology & Plant Pathology faculty at University of California Riverside in 2004. Dr. Jin is an elected Member of the US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM), the American Phytopathological Society (APS), and a CIFAR Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. Dr. Jin was recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Web of Science.

Research Interests

Dr. Jin’s research explores the intricate roles of RNAs, epigenetics, and antimicrobial peptides in regulating plant-microbe interactions, aiming to develop sustainable and eco-friendly strategies for crop protection against fungal and bacterial pathogens. Her lab discovered cross-kingdom RNA communication between plants and pathogens, revealing how these RNA exchanges modulate pathogen infection and plant defense. They further demonstrated that extracellular vesicles play a vital role in protecting and transporting small RNAs, mRNAs, and non-coding RNAs. Her team also uncovered that many fungal pathogens are highly efficient at taking up RNAs and vesicles from their environment—a mechanism that forms the foundation for innovative RNA-based approaches to control plant diseases. Furthermore, her lab has identified several novel classes of antimicrobial peptides from different plant species. These peptides can be developed into sustainable, environmentally-friendly solutions for disease management.