First name,Last name,Preferred title,Overview,Position,Department,Individual
Seth,Murray,Professor,"Dr. Murray's research interests focus on improving the productivity, sustainability (economic and environmental) and quality of agricultural production through scientific research and development; mostly in maize (corn). The approaches used to conduct this research include 1) high-throughput field phenotyping (UAVs/drones, ground vehicles, NIRS), 2) molecular quantitative genetic discovery (including QTL mapping, GWAS), 3) statistical modeling and novel analysis methods (including big data and metanalysis), 4) development of new breeding and genetics approaches (including use of computer simulations), and ultimately 5) applied maize (corn) field breeding (classical and molecular). Primary traits of interest for discovering genetic variation and improving in maize for are yield, southern adaptation, stress (aflatoxin resistance, drought tolerance), plant height, composition (colored grain, high grain antioxidants, low phosphorus), and perennialism. Graduate student training is deeply embedded in all of my research.",Eugene Butler Endowed Chair||Professor,College of Agriculture and Life Sciences||Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n06b68456
Glen,Ritchie,Associate Professor,"My areas of expertise are: Plant water relations, within-plant cotton spatial yield mapping and distribution, near-remote sensing and high throughput field phenotyping, and cotton carbon partitioning in response to abiotic stress.",Associate Professor||Associate Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences||Lubbock Research and Extension Center,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n086f4333
Timothy,Herrman,Professor State Chemist and Director,"As a professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and member of the Interdisciplinary Faculty of Toxicology and Food Science graduate faculty, I direct a graduate education and outreach program and conduct research in regulatory science. I also serves as the State Chemist and Director of the Office of the Texas State Chemist (OTSC). In my dual role of educator and regulator, I work with students, faculty, university administrators, state and federal regulators, legislators, and manufacturers, distributors, and consumers of feed and fertilizer. A focus of my research and outreach activities involves public-private partnerships to manage mycotoxin risk through co-regulation. This effort is supported through an ISO accredited aflatoxin proficiency testing program delivered to over 200 labs in 62 countries - operating as APTECA.",Professor State Chemist and Director,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n0a2c2300
Jamie,Foster,Associate Professor,"My overall goal is the improvement of economic and environmental sustainability through the use of alternative practices, specifically the integration of legumes or agricultural co-products, into agricultural systems. Experiments are designed to evaluate alternatives which will improve the resource use efficiency of water, nutrients, and other management inputs while maintaining crop or livestock productivity. Alternative practices include novel forages or crops, agronomic management, soil amendments, or tillage. Primary focus is on warm-season legumes and their inclusion into warm-season based cropping systems and pastures for crop and livestock production and biofuels in the southern United States. Co-products, including microalgae, macroalgae, and other bioenergy waste, have great potential as soil amendments and animal feeds which enhance resource use efficiency. Improvement of sustainability and resource use efficiency are cross-cutting issues which are international in scope.",Associate Professor||Associate Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences||Corpus Christi Research and Extension Center,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n14b0b3a6
Muthukumar,Bagavathiannan,Associate Professor,"My research interests fall within the broader area of Weed Science and Agronomy, with particular emphasis on weed ecology and management. The threat of herbicide resistance is immense in broad-acre systems, leading to loss of effective herbicide options, increased herbicide use and unintended impacts on the broader environment. To this effect, the prime goal of my research program is to understand the evolutionary biology and dynamics of herbicide resistance in weed communities and develop integrated pest management (IPM) solutions encompassing chemical and non-chemical tactics to prevent/effectively manage herbicide resistance. I particularly use simulation modeling tools to answer some of the fundamental research questions surrounding herbicide resistance evolution and guide management decision-making. My research takes an inter-disciplinary approach in addressing knowledge gaps (problem-centric rather than discipline-centric) by integrating tools and knowledge from a wide range of disciplines. I actively collaborate with eminent research groups within and outside the United States.",Associate Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n40b31913
Steven,Hague,Professor,"My research emphasis is to create cotton cultivars and germplasm with high-yield potential, excellent drought tolerance and resistance to insects endemic to Texas. I make active use of a wide array of cotton germplasm including exotic upland and interspecific lines. My cotton testing region includes Central and South Texas, as well as the Rolling Plains.",Associate Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n4328568f
Jackie,Rudd,Professor,"I am the project leader of the hard winter wheat breeding program for the High Plains and Rolling Plains of Texas. Responsibilities include management of the cultivar development project, graduate student training, and conducting research relevant to wheat genetic improvement. My current research interests are breeding for water use efficiency, introgression of forage and grain yield traits from synthetic hexaploid wheat, high throughput phenotyping for biomass production, marker assisted breeding for biotic and abiotic stress resistance, and enhanced bread-making quality.","Professor||Project Leader, Wheat Breeding Program",Soil and Crop Sciences||Amarillo Research and Extension Center,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n48d095ec
Jorge,Da Silva,Professor,"Using cutting-edge technologies in molecular biology and plant genetics, my Sugarcane Breeding program at Texas A&M AgriLife Research has developed energy cane cultivars with high biomass yield, in partnership with Chevron Technologies Venture and BP Biofuels, that can be grown in a wider region of Texas and the United States, specifically designed for use in the production of bio-fuels. This program has also optimized efficient capabilities for scaling up production of feedstock planting stock. In addition, applying Next-Generation DNA sequencing techniques my program has identified and isolated genes controlling stress resistance, such as cold, which could prevent losses to the $3.8 billion US sugar industry and is developing DNA markers to tag important genes controlling cell wall composition and disease resistance.",Professor||Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences||Weslaco Research and Extension Center,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n54ad9a43
Mark,Burow,Professor,"Goals of the program are, in collaboration with peanut breeding programs in College Station and Stephenville to
(1) release new cultivars for Texas growers, incorporating:
high yield
improved edible seed quality -early maturity, high oleic oil
resistance to water deficit, heat, and salt stress
resistance to disease and pests, especially leafspot, nematodes, and Sclerotinia blight
(2) Participate in the International Peanut Genome Initiative, and use genomics technology in cultivar
development
(3) Participate in international collaborations with scientists, especially in Ghana and Burkina Faso
through a Peanut and Mycotoxin Innovation Lab/ USAID project",Professor||Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences||Lubbock Research and Extension Center,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n57d1bc41
Jane,Dever,Professor,"Research focus includes developing new and differentiated germplasm with enabling technology, and screening exotic germplasm collections for native traits to be used in breeding cotton. Breeding targets include improved fiber quality, drought tolerance, nematode resistance, disease tolerance to Verticillium dahliae, Theilaviopsis basicola, and Xanthamonas (bacterial blight) and yield component stability in high fiber quality lines. Fiber quality research includes not only improvement of heritable physical fiber properties, but also enhanced utilization facilitated by positive genetic/agronomic/processing interactions. Incorporating native traits into cultivars through classical breeding for organic production and preserving genetic resources in a recombinant DNA environment is a primary goal of the breeding program.",Professor||Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences||Lubbock Research and Extension Center,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n68ed4a06
Wenwei,Xu,Professor,,Professor||Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences||Lubbock Research and Extension Center,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n6ca3757d
Endang,Septiningsih,Associate Professor,"My current research focus is plant genetics, genomics, and gene editing, with an emphasis on rice and several other crops. This covers various traits, including abiotic and biotic stresses, grain quality, yield and important agronomic traits that are important to Texas and the rest of the world. Different sources of genetic donors, including exotic germplasm will be used to increase the diversity of research material. Local, national and international research collaborations will be pursued to accelerate progress for crop improvement and broaden the research impacts.",Associate Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n74b30548
Michael,Thomson,Professor,"My research expertise is in plant molecular breeding with an emphasis on rice genetics and genomics, international agriculture, and developing CRISPR-based gene editing approaches for efficient gene validation and trait development. My primary objective is to apply new genetics discoveries to rice improvement to help Texas producers and rice farmers around the world produce higher yields of superior quality rice in an environmentally sustainable manner. I am also leading the AgriLife Research Crop Genome Editing Lab to optimize high-throughput gene editing across a number of diverse crop species.",Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n74c30954
Ambika,Chandra,Associate Professor,"My primary responsibility and research interest is breeding (applied and molecular) and cultivar development of warm- and cool-season turfgrass species for use in home lawns, athletic fields and golf courses. This involves adopting holistic systems approach towards cultivar development, marketing and commercialization through industry collaborations; working interactively in the interdisciplinary areas of turfgrass science including turfgrass genomics, physiology, entomology, pathology, soils and socio-economics; developing high-throughput greenhouse/growth chamber phenotyping procedures to efficiently evaluate large breeding (and mapping) populations for important traits of interest including a wide range of biotic and abiotic stress tolerances. My interests also include graduate student education and training of tomorrow's plant breeders and turfgrass professionals capable of leading a successful career in academia and/or the turfgrass industry.",Associate Professor||Associate Professor||Associate Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences||Dallas Research and Extension Center||Texas A&M AgriLife Research,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n7be9df6a
Hongbin,Zhang,Professor,"My research is focused on genomics and systems biology in crop plants, particularly development of genomic and systems biological knowledge and new or advanced technologies for enhanced crop research and breeding. These include re-establishing of the molecular basis and mechanisms of genetics and biology; cloning and characterization of genes and quantitative trait loci (QTLs) controlling traits of agronomic importance; deciphering of the molecular mechanisms of biological phenomena or traits of importance such as quantitative genetics, epigenetics, crop yield, crop quality, heterosis and plant polyploidization; and development of molecular toolkits and associated pipelines for next-generation enhanced crop breeding such as gene-based breeding and crop production such as molecular precision agriculture.",Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n8ad1df35
Qingwu,Xue,Professor,"Develop a competitive and extramurally funded research program in the area of crop water use, water use efficiency, and abiotic and biotic stress resistance in major field crops in the Texas High Plains. The overall goal of my research program is to provide selection tools for breeders and geneticists and management tools for agronomists and producers, through better understanding the physiological mechanisms of crop performance under stress conditions. The major research focuses include understanding physiological and molecular mechanisms of drought tolerance, identifying plant traits conferring to stress tolerance, understanding the interactions of abiotic and biotic stresses, evaluating and developing field phenotyping tools, and developing management strategies under stress conditions. Advise graduate student research.",Professor||Professor||Adjunct Professor,"Soil and Crop Sciences||Texas A&M AgriLife Research||West Texas A&M University - (Canyon, Texas, United States)",https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n8c76b901
Keerti,Rathore,Professor,"My current research interests are in the genetic improvement of important dicot (cotton and tomato) and monocot (rice and sorghum) crops. Protocols for efficient delivery of genes, optimal expression of transgenes, and rapid recovery of transgenic cotton, rice, and sorghum plants have been established in my laboratory. These procedures are being used to conduct both basic and applied research pertaining to crop improvement. Projects include regeneration from cell & tissue cultures, use of new reporter and selectable marker genes to understand and improve the transformation process, promoter analysis, enhancement of disease resistance in plants, conferring draught tolerance to crop plants, conferring insect resistance to crop plants, improving nutritional quality of seeds, and production of recombinant antibodies and vaccines in plants.",Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n9b4a2655
Joseph,Awika,Professor,"Dr. Awika's broad interest is in developing technologies that maximize the ability of food to protect humans against chronic disease. His research focuses on the chemistry behind the behavior and properties of specific micro (polyphenols) and macro (starch and proteins) food constituents derived from grains. The interactions of the starch and proteins with the polyphenols, and how these interactions affect the rheological and biologically relevant properties of the molecules are of interest. How the structure of the polyphenols can be used to predict and manipulate their chemical behavior and function in food systems, as well as predict their interactions relevant inflammatory response in biological models is a major area of focus.
Dr. Awika's research involves multidisciplinary and international collaborations with geneticists, nutritional biochemists, agronomists, plant breeders, among others, from around the world.",Professor||Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences||Nutrition,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nb760602b
William,Rooney,Professor,"The long-range goal of my sorghum improvement program is to enhance the productivity and profitability of grain, forage and bioenergy sorghum production systems. The sorghum breeding program is used as a mechanism to develop and release sorghum germplasm to meet this goal. In addition to the release of improved sorghum genotypes, research in the program emphasizes the genetic and molecular genetic inheritance of disease resistance, grain quality and agronomic productivity and adaptability. The research provides opportunities for graduate student training in fundamental and applied aspects of plant improvement. Specific research interests include the development of sorghum germplasm for bioenergy (both sweet and biomass), grain and forage Instruct SCSC 642 annually each fall semester.",Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nc74bd61f
Sakiko,Okumoto,Associate Professor,"The overall goal of my research is to understand how nitrogen (N), quantitatively the most important nutrient in crops, is managed in plants. Specifically, my research aims at how amino acids, one of the main forms of organic N in plant body, is transported. In order to study such mechanisms in detail, we have developed protein-based, fluorescent sensors that allow us to track amino acids in live cells. We utilize these sensors to discover novel molecular mechanisms that are involved in the regulation of amino acids. We are currently interrogating the processes in which amino acid exporters are involved in, using various genetic resources such as T-DNA insertion mutants and gene editing tools. We are also interested in developing novel sensors for other biologically important molecules.",Associate Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nc97dd3d8
Wayne,Smith,Professor and Associate Department Head,"Research duties include development of superior germplasm/cultivars which will enhance the productivity, improve the product quality, and/or decrease production costs associate with cotton production in Texas. Primary research sites in Texas are College Station, Weslaco, Corpus Christi, Thrall, and Chillicothe, as well as colleagues at Lubbock. Primary geographical areas of responsibilities are central and south Texas with secondary goals aimed at all cotton producing areas of Texas and the United States.",Professor and Associate Department Head,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/ncd375f9a
Shuyu,Liu,Professor,"Genetic and genomic studies of important traits of wheat in the US Great Plains. Traits include drought and heat tolerance, resistance to diseases (leaf, stem and stripe rust, wheat streak mosaic virus), and arthropods (greenbug, Russian wheat aphid, hessian fly, and wheat curl mite) as well as good end-use quality. Both traditional and molecular breeding techniques are used to develop germplasm lines with one or more target traits. Genomic techniques include gene/QTL mapping, molecular marker identification, validation and utilization, high throughput KASP SNP screening, and gene cloning. Gene functional analysis will be used to understand and improve those target traits.
1. Genetic mapping and genomics studies of QTL for yield, yield components under dry and irrigated conditions, and other traits in adapted cultivars; Study drought tolerance through transcriptomics of water stressed wheat plants.
2. Developing germplasm lines with multiple favorable alleles with drought tolerance, insect and wheat streak mosaic virus resistances using high throughput and diagnostic KASP SNP.
3. Cloning of greenbug resistance gene, identification of candidate genes through molecular techniques.",Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nd1249c47
Scott,Finlayson,Associate Professor,"The main focus of my research program is investigating the roles of environmental signals as conditioners of plant growth and development, and discovering the mechanisms through which they work. Current research interests include defining the pathways and mechanisms associated with the regulation of branch development by light signals (and other signals), using both crop and model species. I also have a broad interest in how phytohormones participate in the regulation of growth and development and stress responses.",Associate Professor,Soil and Crop Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/ne6245565
Craig,Nessler,Professor,,Adjunct Professor||Professor||Faculty Fellow,Center for Health Systems and Design||Soil and Crop Sciences||Horticultural Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nfe5a2ef4
David,Stelly,Professor,"My scientific research, graduate and post-graduate programs employs multi-disciplinary approaches to conduct and study use of naturally occurring germplasm for crop improvement. Elements of the research include wild-species germplasm introgression, chromosome substitution, reproductive and ploidy manipulations, conventional cytogenetics and fluorescence in situ hybridization, genetic analysis, DNA marker and assay (SNP) development, marker assisted selection, reproductive cytology and genetics, and various types of genome mapping, sequencing, and their integration for genome sequencing and assembly. Most of my research aims to enhance the germplasm, knowledge, science and technologies for genetic improvement Upland cotton, e.g., economic yield and sustainability; some, however, is devoted to sorghum and peanut, especially wide hybridization and germplasm utilization.",Professor||Chair,Soil and Crop Sciences||Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nfec36db0