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<meta charset="UTF-8"><div><br></div></div><div><blockquote type="cite"><div><div class="WordSection1" style="page: WordSection1; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 31.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -31.5pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><b>Tai-ping Sun<o:p></o:p></b></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 31.5pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-indent: -31.5pt; line-height: 18.4px;"><b>Department of Biology, Duke University, NC 27708, USA<o:p></o:p></b></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 18.4px;"><o:p> </o:p></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 18.4px;"><b><span>POSTDOCTORAL SCHOLAR POSITION<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-align: justify; line-height: 18.4px;"><b><span>Green Revolution DELLA Proteins – Functional Analysis and Regulatory Mechanisms<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">A<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">postdoctoral research position</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>is available immediately to join an interdisciplinary project focused on gibberellin (GA) signaling and transcriptional regulation in plants. We seek a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">highly motivated researcher</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>with a strong background in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">protein chemistry, molecular genetics, genomics, and/or plant development</span></strong>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">GA perception by its nuclear receptor,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">GIBBERELLIN INSENSITIVE DWARF1 (GID1)</span></strong>, triggers polyubiquitination and proteasomal degradation of the master growth regulators<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">DELLA proteins</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b> </b></span>via the<span class="apple-converted-space"><b> </b></span><strong><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">SCF<sup>SLY1/GID2</sup><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>E3 ubiquitin ligase complex</span></strong>. DELLA genes are known as<span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i></span><em><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">“Green Revolution” genes</span></em><i>,</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>as dominant mutations confer semi-dwarfism and significantly increased crop yields through reduced GA responsiveness.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">DELLA proteins function as<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">central signaling hubs</span></strong><b>,</b><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>interacting with diverse transcription factors (TFs) to integrate hormonal and developmental signals. Recent studies show that DELLAs associate with both activated and repressed promoters, and that<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-weight: normal;">TF–DELLA–histone H2A complexes</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><b> </b></span>at target chromatin are essential for their regulatory activity. However, how DELLAs achieve interaction specificity and act as transcriptional coactivators or corepressors at distinct genes remains unclear.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">This project uses<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">structural, biochemical, and genomics approaches</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>to address these questions and uncover fundamental mechanisms of plant growth regulation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style="">Related recent publications:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">1. Huang X, Tian H, Park J, Oh DH, Hu J, Zentella R, Qiao H, Dassanayake M, Sun TP. 2023. The master growth regulator DELLA binding to histone H2A is essential for DELLA-mediated global transcription regulation.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Nat Plants</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>9: 1291-305<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">2. Huang X, Zentella R, Park J, Reser L, Bai DL, Ross MM, Shabanowitz J, Hunt DF, Sun TP. 2024. Phosphorylation activates master growth regulator DELLA by promoting histone H2A binding at chromatin in Arabidopsis.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Nat Commun</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>15: 7694<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">3. Dahal P, Wang Y, Hu J, Park J, Forker K, Zhang ZL, Sharma K, Borgnia MJ, Sun TP, Zhou P. 2025. Structural insights into proteolysis-dependent and -independent suppression of the master regulator DELLA by the gibberellin receptor.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Proc Natl Acad Sci USA</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>122: e2511012122<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">4. Shani E, Hedden P, Sun TP. 2024. Highlights in gibberellin research: A tale of the dwarf and the slender.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Plant Physiol</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>195: 111-34<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0in 0.5in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Academy Engraved LET"; text-indent: -0.5in;"><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">5. Alabadi D, Sun TP. 2025. Green Revolution DELLA proteins: Functional analysis and regulatory mechanisms.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Annu Rev Plant Biol</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>76: 373-400<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><b><span style="">To apply, please send by e-mail with “Postdoc application” in the subject line: a cover letter containing your research summary and career goals, curriculum vitae, and names, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers of three references to Tai-ping Sun (e-mail address: </span><a href="mailto:tps@duke.edu" title="mailto:tps@duke.edu" style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134); text-decoration: underline;">tps@duke.edu</a></b><b><span style="">).<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; line-height: 18.4px;"><span style=""><o:p> </o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="">-------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="">Tai-ping Sun <o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="">John Carlisle Kilgo Distinguished Professor of Biology<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style="">Duke University<br>Durham, NC 27708, USA<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin: 0in; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;"><span style=""><a href="https://scholars.duke.edu/person/tai.ping.sun" style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134); text-decoration: underline;"><span style="color: rgb(70, 120, 134);">https://scholars.duke.edu/person/tai.ping.sun</span></a></span></div></div></div></blockquote></div><br></body></html>