Reporter Topic:Environmental DNA and Its Applications in Biodiversity Monitoring and Ecosystem Restoration: Current Status and Perspectives

Reporter: Professor Guoqing Lu, University of Nebraska at Omaha, US

Time:15:30, July.31, 2019

Location:Conference Room 8208, Department of Engineering

    Dr. Guoqing Lu is a Full Professor at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Dr. Lu is interested in applying multidisciplinary approaches, including environmental DNA, to biodiversity monitoring and ecosystem restoration related to human modifications. Dr. Lu received his PhD in Biology from Laval University (Canada) and two MSc degrees respectively in Biology and Computer Science. Dr. Lu has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal publications and has an h-index of 32 with over 5,000 citation. Dr. Lu has also developed several widely used software tools and biological databases. Dr. Lu’s research has been funded by a variety of grant agencies (over $7M). He serves on the Editorial Board of three international journals and reviews dozens of journal papers and grant applications each year. Dr. Lu is a recipient of Excellence in Research and Creative Activities Award in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Isaacson Professorship at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

    Environmental DNA (eDNA) represents an unprecedented opportunity to collect information on species distribution and feeding habits, and thus has great potential for applications in ecology and biodiversity management. In this talk, Dr. Lu will provide an overview of environmental DNA technology and present an optimal pipeline from research design, sample collection to bioinformatics analysis. Dr. Lu will demonstrate its broad applications through several case studies. In the end, Dr Lu will discuss the pros and cons of the currently used eDNA approach and offers his insights in the use of eDNA in functional assessment of ecological restoration.