Fayetteville State University Professor Lieceng Zhu, Ph.D., has been awarded nearly $100,000 from the National Science Foundation to continue her research on the impact climate change has on crop resistance. 

Zhu, who works in the university’s Department of Biological and Forensic Science, has been researching how and why global warming threatens our agriculture production and food security by studying the vulnerability of crop plants to insects while also under stress from high temperatures caused by climate change. 

“It’s sobering to consider the delicate balance of sun, rain, soil conditions and time needed to yield a successful crop that will help feed the world’s seven billion people,” Zhu said in a press release. “Mitigating the threat of insect infestation on major agriculture food crops, in this instance, wheat, is difficult enough. When harsh environmental factors exacerbate that problem and further threaten the food industry at its source, it’s crucial that we identify strategies to protect crops from such environmental factors.”

Zhu and her team have been studying the impact of high temperatures on wheats ability resist damage from insects for the last five years with support from the NSF. This is the third year in a row Zhu has been given funding to learn more about how climate change is affecting food security. To date,  Zhu has been awarded nearly $1 million to fund her work . This most recent installment from NSF totaling $99,888 was given to supplement and expand her 2021 NSF Excellence in Research project: “Phytohormones and Heat-Induced Loss of Wheat Resistance to Hessian Fly”

The additional funding will allow Zhu and her research team to conduct experiments to determine how high temperatures with the addition of plant hormones affect the overall metabolism of wheat plants. The overall goal is to propagate stronger and more resilient crops that will yield a larger harvest. 

“Dr. Zhu and her research team are conducting cutting-edge research that will have a profound effect on agriculture/food production and food security, especially in at-risk and vulnerable populations,” said Monica T. Leach, Ed.D., FSU provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs in a press release. “She is a superb investigator and an outstanding instructor and mentor for our students, from post-doctoral fellows and undergraduates to aspiring scientists. We are fortunate to have her on our faculty.”

Currently, Zhu's team includes a postdoctoral fellow, Mahamed Maldani, Ph.D., two FSU undergraduates, Janaia Jackson and Destiny Capers, and a high school intern Rania Nazir.