Bishal G. Tamang, Ph.D.

I am a Research Scientist in the Ainsworth Lab at the University of Illinois, working within the RIPE project at the Institute for Genomic Biology. My research program integrates genetics, remote sensing, and computational biology to improve soybean canopy architecture for greater photosynthetic efficiency and yield.

I developed over 200 backcross lines and CRISPR-edited soybean targeting the narrow leaf (ln) locus to optimize leaf area index. I combine UAV and satellite imagery with machine learning to predict plant traits at scale, and use these predicted phenotypes for QTL mapping and phenomic selection. My earlier work characterized transcriptomic responses to flooding and drought stress in soybean, and transpiration dynamics in cereal crops.