Kong Wong

2022-2023 Guest Lecturer, TRIO Scholars Course, Washington University in St. Louis. 

2018-2019 Grad Groups Leader, Georgia Institute of Technology Description: 

2015-2016 Teaching Assistant, Georgia Institute of Technology Courses: Unit Operations/Bioprocesses Laboratory, Separation Processes, Numerical Methods in Chemical Engineering 

My research group studies and engineers biochemical interactions between plants and microbes to advance sustainable agriculture, enable biomanufacturing, and improve food security. Our group merges expertise in plant & microbial biology, biochemical engineering, community ecology, and soil science to investigate plant-microbe interactions from the nanoscale to the field. We leverage experimental and computational biochemistry tools (mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and molecular dynamics simulations) and synthetic biology tools (sequence design and gene editing) to engineer proteins, peptides, and metabolic profiles to manipulate plant-microbe interactions. Current areas of focus include cover crops, cover crop microbiomes, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, root exudation, and antimicrobial peptides. 

Wong, K.M.,* Griffiths, M.,* Moran, A., Johnston, A., Liu, A.E., Sellers, M., Topp, C.N. Cover crop cultivars and species differ in root traits potentially impacting their selection for ecosystem services. Plant and Soil. In press. *Invited Submission. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-023- 06431-7

2. Liu, R., Dong, X., Seroski, D.T., Soto Morales, B., Wong, K.M., Robang, A.S., Melgar, L., Angelini, T.E., Paravastu, A.K., Hall, C.K., Hudalla, G.A. Side-chain chemistry governs hierarchical order of charge-complementary β-sheet peptide co-assemblies. Angewandte Chemie. In press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202314531 Kong M. Wong Page 2

3. Griffiths, M., Delory, B.M., Jawahir, V., Wong, K.M., Bagnall, G.C., Dowd, T.G., Nusinow, D.A., Miller, A.J., Topp, C.N. (2022) Optimization of root traits to provide enhanced ecosystem services in agricultural systems: a focus on cover crops. Plant, Cell & Environment, 45, 751-770. *Invited Review; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/pce.14247

4. Wong, K.M., Robang, A.S., Lint, A.H., Wang, Y., Dong, X., Xiao, X., Seroski, D.T., Liu, R., Shao, Q., Hudalla, G.A., Hall, C.K., Paravastu, A.K. (2021) Engineering β-Sheet Peptide Coassemblies for Biomaterial Applications. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 125, 13599-13609. *Invited perspective; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.1c04873

5. Xiao, X., Wang, Y., Seroski, D.T., Wong, K.M., Liu, R., Paravastu, A.K., Hudalla, G.A., Hall, C.K. (2021) De novo design of peptides that coassemble into β sheet-based nanofibrils. Science Advances, 7, eabf7668. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf7668

6. Wong, K.M., Shao, Q., Wang, Y., Seroski, D.T., Liu, R., Lint, A.H., Hudalla, G.A., Hall, C.K., Paravastu, A.K. (2021) CATCH Peptides Coassemble into Structurally Heterogeneous β-Sheet Nanofibers with Little Preference to β-Strand Alignment. Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 125, 4004-4015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c11645

7. Seroski, D.T., Dong, X., Wong, K.M., Liu, R., Shao, Q., Paravastu, A.K., Hall, C.K., Hudalla, G.A. (2020) Charge guides pathway selection in β-sheet fibrillizing peptide co-assembly. Communications Chemistry, 3, 1-11. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42004-020-00414-w

8. Tsoras, A.N., Wong, K.M., Paravastu, A.K., Champion, J.A. (2020) Rational Design of Antigen Incorporation into Subunit Vaccine Biomaterials Can Enhance Antigen-Specific Immune Responses. Frontiers in Immunology, 11, 1547. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.01547

9. Shao, Q.,* Wong, K.M.,* Seroski, D.T.,* Wang, Y., Liu, R., Paravastu, A.K., Hudalla, G.A., Hall, C.K. (2020) Anatomy of a selectively coassembled β-sheet peptide nanofiber. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117, 4710-4717. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1912810117

10. Wong, K.M., Wang, Y., Seroski, D.T., Larkin, G.E., Mehta, A.K., Hudalla, G.A., Hall, C.K., Paravastu, A.K. (2020) Molecular complementarity and structural heterogeneity within co-assembled peptide β-sheet nanofibers. Nanoscale, 12, 4506-4518. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c9nr08725g

11. Roberts, E.K., Wong, K.M., Lee, E.J., Le, M.M., Patel, D.M., Paravastu, A.K. (2018) Post-assembly α-helix to β-sheet structural transformation within SAF-p1/p2a peptide nanofibers. Soft Matter, 14, 8985-8996. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c8sm01754a

12. Morris, J.D., Wong, K.M., Penaherrera, C.D., Payne, C.K. (2016) Mechanism of the biomolecular synthesis of PEDOT:PSS: importance of heme degradation by hydrogen peroxide. Biomaterials science, 4, 2, 331-337. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1039/c5bm00399g * denotes equal contribution

Co-PD: Program: USDA-NIFA AFRI Foundational and Applied Science Topp, C.N. (PD), Guan, K. (co-PD), Peng, B. (co-PD), Wong, K.M. (co-PD), Wang, S. (co-PD), Griffiths, M. (co-PD) Enhancing cover crop foundational knowledge for soil dynamics and corn production through advanced root phenomics, species diversity, and agroecosystem modeling Pending (03/2024-02/2027) Award amount: $650,000

 PD: Program: USDA-NIFA AFRI Postdoctoral Fellowship Wong, K.M. (PI) Combining protein simulations and gene-editing for fine-tune modulation of Pennycress growth and development Pending (01/2024-12/2025) Award amount: $225,000

Contributor: Program: Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute Fund (Internal) Chris Topp (PI), Blake Meyers (co-PI), Doug Allen (co-PI), Kong Wong, Ryan DelPercio, Stewart Morley, Shayla Gunn Resolving spatial patterns in the legume-rhizobia symbiosis through an integrative phenotyping and biomolecular experimental pipeline Pending (1/2024-12/2024) Award amount: $100,000

Contributor: Program: NSF RAISE Hall, C.K. (PI), Paravastu, A.K. (co-PI), Hudalla, G.A. (co-PI) Design of Co-Assembling Peptides as Recombinant Protein Fusion Tags for Integrating Enzymes into Supra-molecular Hydrogels. Funded (10/2017- 07/2020) Paravastu’s portion of award: $300,000.