Stanley Tan

About Me

I am a Doctoral Student and Cullman Fellow pursuing my PhD at Yale University and the New York Botanical Garden. Using field experiments and computational genomics, I study plant defenses against plant-pathogens and insect herbivores in tropical forests. Apart from investigating the evolutionary and ecological factors that shape plant defence strategies, my work aims to inform policies and technology to improve forest health, for the benefit of human societies and economies.

Research Interests

• Forest Ecology and Plant Genomics: plant-enemy interactions; plant biochemical defences and resistance
• Applied Plant Biology: plant-mycorrhizal symbiosis; bioactive compounds and applications

News

• [Aug 2025] I will serve as the Senior Fellow Ambassador of Southeast Asia for the Quad Fellowship from 2025-2026.
• [Apr 2025] I was awarded an Early Grant Award ($3000) from the Yale Institute of Biospheric Studies for my research on inducible biochemical defenses in tropical plants.
• [Apr 2025] I secured pre-dissertation research funding ($12,000) from the Tropical Resources Institute Endowment Fellowship and the MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale to study patterns of expression in defense-related genes in tropical forests.
• [Oct 2024] I participated in the Quad Fellowship Summit in Washington, D.C.
• [Aug 2024] I joined the Comita Lab at Yale University as a doctoral student and the New York Botanical Garden as a Cullman Fellow (graduate studies).
• [Jul 2024] I was selected as a Quad Fellow (Southeast Asia, 2024) for my Doctoral Studies at Yale University.
• [May 2024] I joined the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat’s Adaptation Division.
• [May 2024] I graduated from the National University of Singapore with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies (First Class Honours).