We are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend, mentor and colleague Dr. Biao Ding. Professor Ding passed away unexpectedly on June 25, 2015 in Prague, Czech Republic while attending an international conference. His presence will be sorely missed amongst all who knew him. Rightmire Hall has lost one of its dearest friends. The below information is gathered for those to remember the greatest of character and humblest of men.
Biao Ding, PhD
Dr. Ding's first faculty position was at Oklahoma State University beginning in 1994, and he came to The Ohio State University as a member of the Department of Plant Cellular & Molecular Biology (which later merged with the Department of Molecular Genetics) in 2000. He was promoted to Full Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics in 2005. In addition, he was a member of the Center for Applied Plant Sciences since it was founded in 2012.
Biao’s primary research interest was intercellular communication in plants through plasmodesmata, specialized structures that physically connect adjacent cells. He turned to the use of viroids, enigmatic plant pathogens comprised of naked, non-coding RNA, as the model molecule to use in his unique approach to studying intercellular transport. Among other accomplishments, he was the first to identify the primary and tertiary determinates of RNA structure needed for systemic viroid movement. His more recent interests included the roles of non-coding RNAs in gene regulation, and the relationship between three dimensional RNA structure and function. His work resulted in more than 40 publications in prominent journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The EMBO Journal, and The Plant Cell. By nature, Biao was a strong team player and his research involved numerous collaborations both in the US and beyond.
His election as Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in 2012, and prominent positions as Senior Editor of Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (MPMI) and Scientific Editor of PLoS Pathogens, testify to his highly regard in the scientific community. Biao enthusiastically shared his expertise by giving lectures in numerous workshops and short courses, and recently organized and hosted an International Conference on Plant Vascular Biology here at The Ohio State University. He was an outstanding teacher both in the classroom and as a research mentor, and started numerous graduate students and post-doctoral associates on successful career paths. His trainees have obtained prestigious faculty positions both in the US and abroad.
Biao was a courageous, independent thinker of the highest quality and integrity, and a gentle, kind and sincere person who generously shared his time and resources with colleagues. His quiet and ever-smiling presence in the research and teaching halls of The Ohio State University will be sadly missed by all.
