
THE DING LAB
Plant diseases occur everywhere on our planet. Understanding how disease resistance works is our long-term mission and the key to protecting plant health.

Assistant Professor
Plant-microbe interactions & systems biology in plant immunity
Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), Leiden University
PEOPLE

Yuli Ding – Lab manager
B.Sc. in Plant Protection and Integrated Pest Management, China Agricultural University
Ph.D. in Botany, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow in Crop Genetics, John Innes Centre
Interests: molecular plant-microbe Interactions, growth-immunity trade-off, genetics, signal transduction
Hobbies: music, traveling, science communication

Himanshu Chhillar – Ph.D. candidate
B.Sc. in Life Sciences, University of Delhi
M.Sc. in Botany, Jamia Hamdard
Interests: biotic and abiotic stress, molecular plant immunity, gene regulatory networks, phytohormones
Hobbies: travelling, football

Mieke van Vlaardingen - Graduate (M.Sc. candidate)
B.Sc. in Biology, Leiden University
Intended M.Sc. in Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology, Leiden University
Interests: molecular biology, environmental sciences, immunology, evolution
Hobbies: swimming, reading

Bas Leemburg – Graduate (M.Sc. candidate)
B.Sc. in biology and medical laboratory research, University of Applied Sciences Leiden
Intended M.Sc. in Biology, specialisation Cell Biology and Molecular Interactions, Wageningen University
Interests: molecular biology, genomics, astrobiology, palaeontology
Hobbies: coffee, bass guitar, photography, brewing mead

Marc Gebauer – Graduate (M.Sc. Student)
B.Sc. in Biology, Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz
Intended M.Sc. in Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology, Leiden University
Interests: molecular genetics, gene modification, plant biology, environmental biology
Hobbies: football, videogames

Alex Bos - Education and research staff member (Technician)
Alex Bos - Education and research staff member (Technician)
Interest: molecular biology, plant tissue culture, learning new techniques
Hobbies: reading, swimming, gaming, karting
PUBLICATIONS HIGHLIGHTS
Explore some of the lab’s featured publications below. For a complete list, click on the “All Publications” button.