Research Interests

The use of vegetable oils as a source of dietary lipids, renewable biomaterials, and biofuels is increasing worldwide. Enhancing seed oil production is essential to meet global demand and support Canada’s economy and customizing seed oils for specific markets can add value and create new diversification opportunities for oilseed producers. Some microorganisms, including certain microalgal and yeast species, are also capable of accumulating large amounts of lipids and other valuable bioproducts. Improving oil yield and quality in both seeds and microorganisms remains a challenge due to limited understanding of oil biosynthesis and the need for more effective biotechnology strategies. Strengthening agronomic traits—such as stress tolerance, seed yield, and oil quality—is equally important for achieving stable and sustainable oil crop production in the face of environmental variability.

We are interested in:
– expanding our knowledge of storage lipid formation and acyl editing;
– increasing oil yield in plants and microorganisms;
– producing specialty oils and other high-value bioproducts in plants and microorganisms via synthetic biology;
– improving agronomic characteristics of oil crops (e.g., stress tolerance, seed yield, and quality).

For more information, please contact

Guanqun (Gavin) Chen, PhD (https://apps.ualberta.ca/directory/person/gc24)