Postdoctoral Associate, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Florida Dr. Junfei Ma is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Florida specializing in plant virology, RNA biology, and molecular plant pathology. She received her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Mississippi State University in 2022, where she focused on RNA structural motifs involved in viroid trafficking and host-pathogen interactions. Her current research continues to investigate RNA-based mechanisms underlying plant defense and viroid infection. Dr. Ma has authored over 15 peer-reviewed publications, including first-author papers in The Plant Cell, Trends in Microbiology, and Molecular Plant Pathology. She serves as a reviewer for PLOS Pathogens, Molecular Plant Pathology, and PLOS One, and is a member of the American Society for Virology and the American Society of Plant Biologists. Her work has been recognized with multiple research and travel awards, highlighting her contributions to the field of plant molecular biology.