Zerbe Lab Attends the 2026 Bay Area Plant Hub

This April, the Zerbe lab attended the 2026 Bay Area Plant Hub, a symposium held in collaboration with American Society of Plant Biologists. Postdoctoral researcher Farida Yasmin presented her research on the diterpenoid pathway network in millet, a nutrient-rich and drought-tolerant staple crop eaten widely in Africa and Asia. During the event’s poster session, students in the Zerbe lab shared their own research on a variety of topics, including the A GIFT SEED project, a multi-lab collaboration led by the Whitehill lab at North Carolina State University. 

Another student from the Zerbe lab shared his research on the biosynthesis of anti-cancer diterpenoids in coffee. “The Bay Area Plant Hub was my first time explaining my own research to other people,” said David Dayrit, a 5th year Human Biology major investigating the biosynthesis of cafestol and cahweol natural products in Coffea arabica. “It was an honor to talk about my own research and hear about other people’s discoveries and breakthroughs in the world of plants.” The conference was a great opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students alike to make new connections in the plant biology community.