Faculty

Faculty by Program
- Plant Systems Biology Program
- Plant Breeding and Genetics Program

Plant Systems Biology Faculty	Area of Research
James Alfano Email \| Lab website	Bacterial pathogenicity of plants; Type III protein secretion; and plant innate immunity
Zoya Avramova Email \| Info	Relationship between chromatin structure and gene function in animals and plants
Gilles Basset Email \| Info	Understanding how plants synthesize and metabolize micronutrients, mainly vitamins and phytochemicals
Ed Cahoon Email \| Lab website	Basic and applied research on plant lipid metabolism to enhance the nutritional and industrial value of crop plants and to probe the synthesis and function of bioactive lipids for improved agronomic performance of crops.
Heriberto Cerutti Email \| Info	RNA interference, epigenetic mechanisms, functional genomics, algae for biofuels
Alan Christensen Email \| Info	Mechanisms of plant mitochondrial DNA replication, recombination and repair
Thomas Clemente Email \| Lab website	Implementing plant gene transfer technologies for value-added traits and disease resistance
Michael Fromm Email \| Info	Research in the Fromm lab is in two distinct areas: chromatin and transcription mechanisms related to drought tolerance and nutritional effects of dietary molecules.
Steven Harris Email \| Lab website	Regulation of morphogenesis in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus
Sally Mackenzie Email \| Lab website	Plant organelle biology, mitochondrial genetics, cytoplasmic male sterility, plant genomics
Etsuko Moriyama Email \| Lab website	Bioinformatics, molecular evolution, and molecular population genetics
Jack Morris Email \| Info	Plant RNA virus host-pathogen interactions; role of plant resistance genes, defense signaling pathways and RNA interference in Turnip crinkle virus infection of Arabidopsis
Jeffrey Mower Email \| Lab website	Molecular evolution and comparative genomics of plant mitochondrial and plastid genomes.
Julie Stone Email\| Lab website	Plant molecular biology; programmed cell death; signal transduction; reactive oxygen species (redox); biotic and abiotic stress responses; plant development.
James Van Etten Email \| Lab website	Isolation and characterization of large dsDNA viruses (>350 genes) that infect eukaryotic algae as well as their gene products
Bin Yu Email \| Lab website	The molecular mechanisms underlying small RNA metabolism and function.
Chi Zhang Email \| Lab website	Computational Systems Biology; Bioinformatics; interactions between pathogens and plant cells; gene/protein interaction network in plant cells

Plant Breeding and Genetics Program Faculty	Area of Research
Gilles Basset Email \| Info	Understanding how plants synthesize and metabolize micronutrients mainly vitamins and phytochemicals
Thomas Clemente Email \| Lab website	Implementing plant gene transfer technologies for value-added traits and disease resistance
Ismail Dweikat Email \| Info	Genetics of sorghum and pearl millet with emphasis on the identification of DNA-based markers and mapping systems useful in practical selection schemes.
Michael Fromm Email \| Info	Protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions in plants and animals; whole genome microarrays to analyze where specific proteins bind to the genome
George Graef Email \| Info	Soybean breeding and genetics; Genetic diversity in breeding populations; Mating and selection systems; Soybeans for human food uses; Protein and oil content and quality; Identification and characterization of quantitative trait loci (QTL); Breeding and evaluation of transgenic soybeans.
David Holding Email \| Lab website	The Holding laboratory focuses primarily on understanding the molecular genetic basis of kernel maturation and its relationship to protein quality in maize and sorghum. We are also involved in research to understand and improve traits such as nitrogen use efficiency and protein digestibility in sorghum.
Sally Mackenzie Email \| Lab website	Plant organelle biology, mitochondrial genetics, cytoplasmic male sterility, plant genomics
Jeffrey Mower Email \| Lab website	Molecular evolution and comparative genomics of plant mitochondrial and plastid genomes.
Paul Staswick Email \| Info	Plant Hormone Metabolism, Hormone Signaling, Disease resistance, Regulation of gene expression, Transgenic plants
Harkamal Walia Email \| Lab website	Plant adaptation to environmental stresses. Particularly, the physiological and molecular characterization of crop responses to drought, heat and flooding stress.