The department is delighted to announce the hiring of Dr. Shujun Ou, who will join us in the 2022/23 academic year as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Ou will join us after postdoctoral positions at the University of Iowa and at the Johns Hopkins University, where he has spearheaded research into the population dynamics of Transposable Elements (TE) and their effects on genome evolution. TEs are sequences of DNA that can move from one location in the genome to another. While some consider TEs to be genomic parasites, others have suggested that they are the driving force in genome evolution. The Ou Lab at the Ohio State University Department of Molecular Genetics will integrate  micro- and macro-scales of genomics to study the fundamental role of TEs in plants. We are excited to welcome him to the Molecular Genetics community!