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Plant Biology faculty and research

Faculty associated with the Plant Biology Intercollege Graduate Degree Program at Penn State, together with a summary of their research interests in plant biology. Faculty are listed in alphabetical order of last name. To see more information about a faculty member, click on his/her name.
Name Email/phone Interests include
Arteca, Richard
  • Professor of Horticultural Physiology
rna@psu.edu
814-863-4906
    (University Park) 		Plant responses to externally applied stimuli with emphasis on plant hormones, touch and gravity.
Assmann, Sarah (Sally)
  • Waller Professor of Biology
sma3@psu.edu
814-863-9579
    (University Park) 		Molecular biology of plant G-proteins and kinases. Phytohormone regulation of signal transduction and RNA processing. Second messenger regulation of ion channels in plant cells.
Axtell, Michael (Mike)
  • Assistant Professor of Biology
mja18@psu.edu
814-867-0241
    (University Park) 		Discovery and characterization of plant microRNAs and siRNAs. Functions of microRNAs and siRNAs in the evolution of plant development. Genomics and bioinformatics of microRNAs, siRNAs, and their targets.
Berhage, Robert
  • Associate Professor of Horticulture
rdb4@psu.edu
814-863-2190
    (University Park) 		Environmental plant physiology. Controlled and modified environments for plant growth. Eco-roofs, rooftop greening, and other uses of plants in distributed stormwater management systems.
Bevilacqua, Philip
  • Professor of Chemistry
pcb@chem.psu.edu
814-863-3812
    (University Park) 		Roles of the RNA-binding proteins in plant physiology. Plant ribonomics. Identification and characterization of functional RNAs in plants.
Braun, David
  • Assistant Professor of Biology
dmb44@psu.edu
814-863-1108
    (University Park) 		Plant development. Signal Transduction. Genetics. Sugar signaling.
Brown, Kathleen
  • Professor of Postharvest Physiology
kbe@psu.edu
814-863-2260
    (University Park) 		Ethylene biology. Regulation of root development. Root responses to edaphic stress. Identification and mapping of traits for adaption to edaphic stress.
Brown, Nicole
  • Assistant Professor of Wood Chemistry
nrb10@psu.edu
814-865-7423
    (University Park) 		Adhesives; wood composites; cellulosic materials, bacterial cellulose, polymer science; chemistry of wood biopolymers; and other chemical treatments of wood.
Bryant, Donald
  • Ernest C. Pollard Professor of Biotechnology
  • Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
dab14@psu.edu
814-865-1992
    (University Park) 		Photosynthesis, structure-function relationships of proteins, gene regulation, and microbial physiology. Cyanobacteria and green sulfur bacteria.
Carlson, John
  • Professor of Molecular Genetics, School of Forest Resources
  • Co-director, Bioinformatics and Genomics option of IBIOS graduate program
jec16@psu.edu
814-863-9164
    (University Park) 		Molecular genetics and biotechnology of woody plants. egulation of gene expression during development and in response to environmental stress. Genomics including genetic linkage mapping, molecular cytogenetics, and studies of marker-assisted selection.
Chopra, Surinder
  • Associate Professor of Maize Genetics, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
sic3@psu.edu
814-865-1159
    (University Park) 		Regulation of flavonoid biosynthesis during plant development and plant-pathogen interaction. Epigenetic regulation and allele specific patterns.
Cosgrove, Daniel (Dan)
  • Eberly Chair and Professor of Biology
dcosgrove@psu.edu
814-863-3892
    (University Park) 		Mechanism of plant growth. Function and evolution of expansins. Biochemistry and rheology of plant cell walls. Growth responses to light, hormones, and water stress and other stimuli.
Curtis, Wayne
  • Professor of Chemical Engineering
wrc2@psu.edu
814-863-4805
    (University Park) 		Regulation and signal transduction in plant secondary metabolism. Phytoremediation of hydrocarbons. Commercial chemical production in plants and plant tissue culture.
Cyr, Richard
  • Professor of Biology
rjc8@psu.edu
814-865-6416
    (University Park) 		Plant cell and developmental biology. Biochemical, genetic, molecular genetic and cell biology of the cytoskeleton. Mitosis, with emphasis on spindle assembly.
De Moraes, Consuelo
  • Associate Professor of Entomology
czd10@psu.edu
814-863-2867
    (University Park) 		Ecology. Chemical ecology. Tritrophic interactions. Biological control. Plant signaling. Plant-insect-interactions. Plant defenses.
DePamphilis, Claude
  • Professor of Biology
cwd3@psu.edu
814-863-6412
    (University Park) 		Origin and diversification of flowers & developmental pathways. Comparative genomcis of angiosperms & plant gene families. Genomics and evolution of parasitic plants. Organelle function & evolution.
Eissenstat, David
  • Professor of Woody Plant Physiology
  • Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Ecology
dme9@psu.edu
814-863-3371
    (University Park) 		Plant physiological ecology. Root biology and physiology. Plant carbon and nutrient economies.
Fedoroff, Nina
  • Willaman Professor of Life Sciences
  • Evan Pugh Professor, Department of Biology
nvf1@psu.edu
814-863-5717
    (University Park) 		Plant responses to biotic and abiotic stress. Gene network inference. microRNA regulation in gene expression.
Foolad, Majid
  • Professor of Plant Genetics, Department of Horticulture
mrf5@psu.edu
814-865-5408
    (University Park) 		Genetic characterization of resistance/tolerance to biotic/abiotic stresses, and genes/QTLs contributing to tomato fruit quality. Investigation of genes/QTLs for directed crop improvement and germplasm enhancement. Tomato cultivar development & release.
Golbeck, John
  • Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics
  • Professor of Chemistry
jhg5@psu.edu
814-865-1163
    (University Park) 		Light reactions in photosynthesis. Structure and function of photosystem I and the heliobacterial reaction center. Regulation and bioassembly of iron-sulfur clusters in cyanobacteria and plants. Plant and bacterial metalloproteins.
Guiltinan, Mark
  • Professor of Plant Molecular Biology, Department of Horticulture
mjg9@psu.edu
814-863-7957
    (University Park) 		Plant molecular and developmental biology. Starch biosynthesis. Tropical plant biotechnology. Plant-pathogen interactions.
Huff, David R.
  • Associate Professor of Turfgrass Breeding and Genetics, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
drh15@psu.edu
814-863-9805
    (University Park) 		Population genetics. Plant evolution and ecology. Crop improvement. Physiological tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress.
Kang, Seogchan
  • Associate Professor of Plant Pathology
sxk55@psu.edu
814-863-3846
    (University Park) 		Molecular genetics and genomics of fungal plant pathogens. Comparative analysis of the genetic and physiological mechanisms underpinning plant-pathogen interactions using Arabidopsis and rice as model systems.
Kao, Teh-hui
  • Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
  • Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Plant Biology
txk3@psu.edu
814-863-1042
    (University Park) 		Molecular basis of cellular recognition and signal transduction during sexual reproduction in flowering plants, using the S-RNase-based self-incompatibility system as a model.
Koide, Roger
  • Professor of Horticultural Ecology
rxk13@psu.edu
814-863-0710
    (University Park) 		Ecology and physiology of plants and their mycorrhizal fungi.
Luthe, Dawn
  • Professor of Plant Stress Biology, Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
dsl14@psu.edu
814-863-3542
    (University Park) 		Insect defense responses in maize. Functional genomics/proteomic approaches for studying Aspergillus flavus resistance in maize. Abiotic stress resistance.
Lynch, Jonathan
  • Professor of Plant Nutrition
jpl4@psu.edu
814-863-2256
    (University Park) 		Plant adaptation to nutrient and water stress. Global change. World hunger. Root biology.
Ma, Hong
  • Distinguished Professor of Biology
  • Chair, Intercollege Graduate Degree Program in Cell and Developmental Biology
hxm16@psu.edu
814-863-6414
    (University Park) 		Molecular genetics and evolution of flower development. Anther cell differentiation, meiosis and pollen development. Comparative, genomic and bioinformatic analyses of eukaryotic gene functions.
McNellis, Timothy
  • Associate Professor of Plant Pathology
mcnellis@psu.edu
814-863-7646
    (University Park) 		Genetics, molecular biology and physiology of plant interactions with phytopathogenic bacteria. Signal transduction events involved in plant disease resistance. Genetic control of plant hypersensitive cell death.
McSteen, Paula
  • Assistant Professor of Biology
pcm11@psu.edu
814-863-1112
    (University Park) 		Identification and characterization of genes regulating meristem initiation and growth in maize and Arabidopsis. Genomic approaches to studying auxin regulation and gene expression in meristems.
Mullin, Chris
  • Professor, Department of Entomology
camullin@psu.edu
814-865-2435
    (University Park) 		Toxicology of insect-plant interactions. Mechanisms of insect taste chemoreception. Biopesticide action and resistance. Phytochemical ecology.
Nixon, B. Tracy
  • Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
btn1@psu.edu
814-865-3679
    (University Park) 		Structural and functional basis of two component signal transduction. Structural basis for how AAA+ ATPases perform mechanical work to activate transcription by remodeling the sigma54-form of bacterial RNA polymerase.
Pell, Eva
  • Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School
  • John and Nancy Steimer Professor of Agricultural Sciences
ejp@psu.edu
814-863-9580
    (University Park) 		Physiological and biochemical responses of plants to air pollutants. Mechanisms of plant tolerance to air pollutants. Molecular basis and physiological implications of ozone-induced accelerated leaf senescence.
Stephenson, Andrew (Andy)
  • Professor of Biology
as4@psu.edu
814-863-1553
    (University Park) 		Plant reproductive biology, including gene expression by microgametophytes. Pollen-pistil interactions. Evolution of breeding systems. The impact of herbivory and disease on reproductive output.
Tien, Ming
  • Professor of Biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
mxt3@psu.edu
814-863-1165
    (University Park) 		Mechanism of fungal degradation of the plant polymer lignin. Role of plant methionine sulfoxide reductase in protection from oxidative stress and development. Disimilatory iron reduction. Microbial reduction of metal oxides for respiration.
Yang, Yinong
  • Associate Professor of Plant Pathology
yuy3@psu.edu
814-867-0324
    (University Park) 		Molecular and genomic strategies for enhanced disease resistance and drought tolerance in cereal crops.