University of Georgia

By Department / Institute

Genetics

Jill Anderson

Assistant Professor
Genetics; Plant Biology
Website | Google Scholar
jta24@uga.edu
global change, ecophysiology, natural selection, evolutionary genetics, local adaptation

Jeff Bennetzen

Norman and Doris Giles Professor, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar,
National Academy of Sciences Member
Genetics; Plant Biology; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | Google Scholar
maize@uga.edu
cereal comparative genomics, genome structure and evolution

Rodney Mauricio

Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor
Genetics
Website
mauricio@uga.edu
conservation genetics, invasive species, ecological genetics, evolutionary ecology, plant-animal interactions, evolutionary quantitative genetics, adaptation

Andrew Paterson

Regents Professor; Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory
Genetics; Institute of Bioinformatics; Plant Biology
Website | Google Scholar
paterson@uga.edu
plant genetics, genomics, evolution, crop improvement, domestication

CJ Tsai

Winfred N. Haynes Professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Plant Biology; Genetics; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Lab Facebook
cjtsai@uga.edu
phenylpropanoid metabolism, stress response, wood formation, gene family evolution, gene-metabolite networks

Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics

David Bertioli

Professor, Georgia Research Alliance Distinguished Investigator
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Plant Pathology
Google Scholar
bertioli@uga.edu
Peanut genetics and improvement using wild species 

Peng W. Chee

Professor
Molecular Cotton Breeding Laboratory; National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory;
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website
pwchee@uga.edu
molecular breeding of cotton

Joann Conner

Assistant Research Scientist
Horticulture
Website
jconner@uga.edu
apospory, angiosperm asexual reproduction

Katrien Devos

Professor
Plant Biology; Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | ResearchGate
kdevos@uga.edu
comparative genomics in cereals

Scott Jackson

Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Institute of Bioinformatics; Plant Biology
Website | Google Scholar
sjackson@uga.edu
genomic landscape of plant genomes, structural, functional, evolutionary and epigenetic

Soraya Leal-Bertioli

Senior Research Scientist
Plant Pathology; Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website | ResearchGate
sorayab@uga.edu
peanut, wild arachis, introgression, tetraploidization, disease resistance

Zenglu Li

Associate Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website
zli@uga.edu
soybean breeding, genetics and genomics

Cecilia McGregor

Associate Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website | Google Scholar
cmcgre1@uga.edu
vegetables, breeding, genetics, genomics, marker-assisted selection, QTL

Mohamed Mergoum

Professor, Georgia Seed Development/UGA Foundation Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website
mmergoum@uga.edu
small grain breeding, genetics and genomics

Melissa Mitchum

Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Plant Pathology
Website | Google Scholar
melissa.mitchum@uga.edu
molecular plant-nematode interactions, effectors, peptide signaling, host plant resistance, soybean genetics and genomics

Peggy Ozias-Akins

D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor, UGA Distinguished Research Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Horticulture
Website | ResearchGate
pozias@uga.edu
developmental biology and molecular mechanisms of apomixis, genetic enhancement of peanut and grasses

Paul Raymer

Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website
praymer@uga.edu
turfgrass breeding and genetics

Carol Robacker

Associate Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
croback@uga.edu

Brian Schwartz

Associate Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website
tifturf@uga.edu
turfgrass breeding

Justin Vaughn

Adjunct Faculty
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website | Google Scholar
justin.vaughn@ars.usda.gov
gene discovery, population genomics characterization and visualization, simulation of genetic systems

Jason Wallace

Assistant Professor
Institute of Bioinformatics, Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website | ORCiD | Google Scholar
jason.wallace@uga.edu
quantitative genetics and genomics of crops and their microbiomes

Donglin Zhang

Dirr Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website
donglin@uga.edu
woody ornamental improvement

Plant Biology

Jill Anderson

Assistant Professor
Genetics; Plant Biology
Website | Google Scholar
jta24@uga.edu
global change, ecophysiology, natural selection, evolutionary genetics, local adaptation

Doug P. Aubrey

Assistant Professor, Plant Biology
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Website
daubrey@uga.edu
Tree ecophysiology, forest biogeochemistry, fire ecology, sustainability of bioenergy production

Maor Bar-Peled

Professor
Plant Biology; Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
Website
peled@uga.edu
complex carbohydrates synthesis and regulation, biochemistry and molecular biology

Alexander Bucksch

Assistant Professor
Plant Biology; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Twitter
bucksch@uga.edu
computational plant science, phenomics, plant roots, plant imaging and simulation

Jennifer Cruse-Sanders

Director, State Botanical Garden of Georgia
Plant Biology
crusesanders@uga.edu

Katrien Devos

Professor
Plant Biology; Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | ResearchGate
kdevos@uga.edu
comparative genomics in cereals

Scott Jackson

Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Institute of Bioinformatics; Plant Biology
Website | Google Scholar
sjackson@uga.edu
genomic landscape of plant genomes, structural, functional, evolutionary and epigenetic

Brian Kvitko

Assistant Professor
Plant Biology, Plant Pathology
Website | ResearchGate
bkvitko@uga.edu
mechanisms of plant immune action against bacteria, molecular phytobacteriology

Zachary Lewis

Associate Professor
Plant Biology; Microbiology
Website | Google Scholar
zlewis@uga.edu
fungal genetics, chromatin structure and function, epigenetics, gene regulation

Xiaorong Lin

Professor
Plant Biology; Microbiology
Website | Google Scholar
Xiaorong.Lin@uga.edu
fungal genetics, human fungal pathogens, sexual reproduction, dimorphism, pathogenesis, protein trafficking

Jacqueline Mohan

Associate Professor, School of Ecology
Plant Biology
jmohan@uga.edu

Debra Mohnen

Professor
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Plant Biology; Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
Website | ResearchGate
dmohnen@uga.edu
biosynthesis of plant cell wall polysaccharides

Brad Nelms

Assistant Professor
Plant Biology
Website | Google Scholar
nelms@uga.edu
plant reproduction, genomics and gene regulatory networks, single-cell RNA-sequencing, reprogramming cell fate

Andrew Paterson

Regents Professor; Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory
Genetics; Institute of Bioinformatics; Plant Biology
Website | Google Scholar
paterson@uga.edu
plant genetics, genomics, evolution, crop improvement, domestication

Chris Peterson

Professor
Plant Biology
Website
cjpete@uga.edu
carbon cycling, forest recovery, landscape patterns

CJ Tsai

Winfred N. Haynes Professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Plant Biology; Genetics; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Lab Facebook
cjtsai@uga.edu
phenylpropanoid metabolism, stress response, wood formation, gene family evolution, gene-metabolite networks

Caterina Villari

Assistant Professor
Plant Biology, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Website | Google Scholar | ResearchGate
cvillari@uga.edu
fungal pathogens, resistance mechanisms of trees, chemical ecology, insect-fungi symbioses

Zheng-Hua Ye

Professor
Plant Biology
Website
yh@uga.edu
molecular mechanisms and evolution of vascular differentiation and patterning

Plant Pathology

Bochra Bahri

Assistant Professor
Plant Pathology
bbahri@uga.edu
pathogen population structure, pathogen adaptation to hosts and to climate change, plant-pathogen interactions, resistance gene and virulence factor identification, turfgrass and forage disease management

Brian Kvitko

Assistant Professor
Plant Biology, Plant Pathology
Website | ResearchGate
bkvitko@uga.edu
mechanisms of plant immune action against bacteria, molecular phytobacteriology

Soraya Leal-Bertioli

Senior Research Scientist
Plant Pathology; Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website | ResearchGate
sorayab@uga.edu
peanut, wild arachis, introgression, tetraploidization, disease resistance

Melissa Mitchum

Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Plant Pathology
Website | Google Scholar
melissa.mitchum@uga.edu
molecular plant-nematode interactions, effectors, peptide signaling, host plant resistance, soybean genetics and genomics

Shavannor Smith

Associate Professor
Plant Pathology
Website | ResearchGate
shavs@uga.edu
plant-pathogen interactions, structure and evolution of disease resistance loci

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Debra Mohnen

Professor
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Plant Biology; Complex Carbohydrate Research Center
Website | ResearchGate
dmohnen@uga.edu
biosynthesis of plant cell wall polysaccharides

Horticulture

Joann Conner

Assistant Research Scientist
Horticulture
Website
jconner@uga.edu
apospory, angiosperm asexual reproduction

Savithri Nambeesan

Assistant Research Scientist
Horticulture
Website
sunamb@uga.edu
ripening and postharvest physiology

Peggy Ozias-Akins

D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor, UGA Distinguished Research Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Horticulture
Website | ResearchGate
pozias@uga.edu
developmental biology and molecular mechanisms of apomixis, genetic enhancement of peanut and grasses

John Ruter

Armitage Endowed Professor; Director, Trial Gardens at UGA
Horticulture
ruter@uga.edu

Institute of Bioinformatics

Jeff Bennetzen

Norman and Doris Giles Professor, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar,
National Academy of Sciences Member
Genetics; Plant Biology; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | Google Scholar
maize@uga.edu
cereal comparative genomics, genome structure and evolution

Alexander Bucksch

Assistant Professor
Plant Biology; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Twitter
bucksch@uga.edu
computational plant science, phenomics, plant roots, plant imaging and simulation

Katrien Devos

Professor
Plant Biology; Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | ResearchGate
kdevos@uga.edu
comparative genomics in cereals

Scott Jackson

Professor
Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics; Institute of Bioinformatics; Plant Biology
Website | Google Scholar
sjackson@uga.edu
genomic landscape of plant genomes, structural, functional, evolutionary and epigenetic

Andrew Paterson

Regents Professor; Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory
Genetics; Institute of Bioinformatics; Plant Biology
Website | Google Scholar
paterson@uga.edu
plant genetics, genomics, evolution, crop improvement, domestication

CJ Tsai

Winfred N. Haynes Professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Plant Biology; Genetics; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Lab Facebook
cjtsai@uga.edu
phenylpropanoid metabolism, stress response, wood formation, gene family evolution, gene-metabolite networks

Jason Wallace

Assistant Professor
Institute of Bioinformatics, Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics
Website | ORCiD | Google Scholar
jason.wallace@uga.edu
quantitative genetics and genomics of crops and their microbiomes

Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources

Doug P. Aubrey

Assistant Professor, Plant Biology
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Website
daubrey@uga.edu
Tree ecophysiology, forest biogeochemistry, fire ecology, sustainability of bioenergy production

Alexander Bucksch

Assistant Professor
Plant Biology; Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Twitter
bucksch@uga.edu
computational plant science, phenomics, plant roots, plant imaging and simulation

CJ Tsai

Winfred N. Haynes Professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources; Plant Biology; Genetics; Institute of Bioinformatics
Website | Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Lab Facebook
cjtsai@uga.edu
phenylpropanoid metabolism, stress response, wood formation, gene family evolution, gene-metabolite networks

Caterina Villari

Assistant Professor
Plant Biology, Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
Website | Google Scholar | ResearchGate
cvillari@uga.edu
fungal pathogens, resistance mechanisms of trees, chemical ecology, insect-fungi symbioses

Microbiology

Zachary Lewis

Associate Professor
Plant Biology; Microbiology
Website | Google Scholar
zlewis@uga.edu
fungal genetics, chromatin structure and function, epigenetics, gene regulation

Xiaorong Lin

Professor
Plant Biology; Microbiology
Website | Google Scholar
Xiaorong.Lin@uga.edu
fungal genetics, human fungal pathogens, sexual reproduction, dimorphism, pathogenesis, protein trafficking