Sushan Ru - profile information
More information about Sushan Ru
- Assistant Professor
- Small Fruit Breeder
- Department of Horticulture
szr0099@auburn.edu
CASIC Building 287
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AU Small Fruit Breeding
Short Bio
Sushan joined Auburn University in 2021 to establish the first small fruit breeding program for Alabama. She is passionate about improving blueberry cultivars for better stress tolerance and fruit quality to better serve local growers. She is also devoted to solving scientific questions using interdisciplinary tools, as well as teaching and mentoring students. Prior to her current position, Sushan received her PhD training at Washington State University, studying marker-assisted breeding of tree fruit crops. She then investigated genetic gain from targeted recombination during her postdoc at the University of Minnesota. Outside of her work, Sushan spends most of her time with her family. When she has free time, she enjoys practicing piano, watching movies, exercising, and cooking.
More bio information
Education
Ph.DHorticulture, Washington State University2011-2016
M.S.Horticulture, Washington State University2009-2011
B.S.Horticulture, Southwest University, China2005-2009
Professional Experience
- Assistant Professor, Auburn University 2021–present
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Minnesota 2017–2021
- Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Wisconsin-Madison 2017–2018
Research
Delicious and nutritious berries are the drive of my research. I am excited to lead the first small fruit breeding program at Auburn University to develop the finest blueberries for Alabama and nearby regions. My program aims to improve southern highbush blueberries for better spring frost tolerance, disease resistance and fruit quality, while improving rabbiteye blueberries for early maturity, better fruit quality and disease resistance. My research focuses on improving the efficiency of blueberry production and breeding through high-throughput phenotyping, dissecting the genetic architecture of important traits such as disease resistance using interdisciplinary tools. My lab is always looking for passionate, intelligent, and creative students and postdocs, especially candidates with good programming and data analysis skills.
COURSES
- Plant Breeding for Specialty Crops (3 credit hrs.)
- Plant Biotechnology (4 credit hrs.)
- Experimental Methods (4 credit hrs.)
