Degree Programs Offered: Master of Science, Doctor of Philosophy
Director of Graduate Program: Professor Bingru Huang, Foran Hall, George H. Cook Campus (732-932-9375, ext. 358)
Website: http://aesop.rutgers.edu/~plantbio
Members of the Graduate Faculty
Faith C. Belanger, Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Illinois
Plant molecular biology; endophyte interaction
Joan W. Bennett, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs; Ph.D., Chicago
Genetics and biosynthesis of
fungal natural products; fungal genomics
Stacy Bonos,
Assistant Research Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology; SEBS; Ph.D.,
Rutgers
Turfgrass breeding; disease resistance; marker-assisted
selection
A.J. Both, Assistant Extension Specialist in Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Cornell
Controlled environment agriculture; crop modeling; systems analysis
Chee-kok Chin, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Alberta (Canada)
Breeding; genetic improvement; bioactive fatty acids
Bruce B.
Clarke, Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Director, Center for Turfgrass Science; Ph.D., Rutgers
Turfgrass
pathology; soilborne diseases; disease forecasting and control;
mycology
Hugo K. Dooner, Professor of Genetics, SEBS/WIM; Ph.D.,
Wisconsin
Molecular analysis of functional genomics; homologous meiotic
recombination in plants
Edward F. Durner, Associate Research
Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., North Carolina State
Low-temperature stress resistance in tree fruit
Joan G. Ehrenfeld, Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, SEBS; Ph.D., CUNY
Plant community ecology; ecosystems ecology; pollution impacts
Chaim Frenkel, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Washington State
Postharvest biology; senescence, fruit ripening, and stress
Cyril R. Funk, Research Professor Emeritus of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Rutgers
Plant breeding
Randy Gaugler, Professor of Entomology, SEBS; Ph.D., Wisconsin
Invertebrate pathology; nematology; biological control
Thomas J. Gianfagna, Research Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology,
SEBS; Ph.D., Cornell
Plant growth regulators; physiology of fruit crops
Joseph C. Goffreda, Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology,
SEBS; Director, Rutgers Fruit Research and Extension Center; Ph.D.,
Cornell
Genetics and breeding; pest resistance in
solanaceous crops
Ann B. Gould, Associate Extension Specialist in Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Kentucky
Ornamental pathology
Jason Grabosky, Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, SEBS; Ph.D., Cornell
Urban forestry and urban tree establishment
Steven N. Handel, Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources, SEBS; Ph.D., Cornell
Plant population ecology; pollination biology; ecological genetics
Stephen E. Hart, Assistant Extension Specialist in Plant Biology and
Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Michigan State
Weed management in turfgrass and
ornamentals
Jean Marie Hartman, Associate Professor of
Landscape Architecture, SEBS; Ph.D., Connecticut
Plant ecology; community
ecology; restoration ecology; land planning
Joseph R. Heckman,
Associate Extension Specialist in Soil Fertility, SEBS; Ph.D., North
Carolina State
Plant nutrition; soil fertility
Melvin R. Henninger,
Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Pennsylvania State
Cropping systems of potatoes; cold crop horticulture
Bradley I. Hillman, Research Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS;
Director for Research and Senior Associate Director, NJAES; Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Viral infections of plants and fungi
Bingru Huang, Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Texas Tech
Environmental stress physiology of turfgrass
Harry W. Janes, Research Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Rutgers
Plant environmental interactions
Gojko Jelenkovic, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS;
Ph.D., California (Davis)
Genetic manipulation of plants
Randall Kerstetter, Assistant Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS/WIM; Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Molecular genetics of leaf development and
morphogenesis in Arabidopsis
Edward G. Kirby, Associate Professor of Botany, FAS-N; Ph.D., Florida
Developmental physiology; tissue culture
Donald Y. Kobayashi,
Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D.,
California (Riverside)
Plant bacteriology; host-pathogen interaction;
molecular biology
Norman Lalancette, Associate Extension Specialist in Plant
Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Pennsylvania State
Epidemiology; plant disease control; tree
fruit pathology
Eric Lam, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., California (Berkeley)
Gene regulating mechanisms in plants; development and photomorphogenesis
Michael A. Lawton, Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Oxford (UK)
Molecular biology; plant pathogen interactions
Thomas Leustek, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Rutgers
Metabolism and biochemistry
Bradley A. Majek, Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Cornell
Weed science
Pal Maliga, Professor of Genetics, SAS/WIM; Ph.D., Hungarian Academy of Sciences (Budapest, Hungary)
Plant molecular biology; plastid genetics
Charles Martin,
Professor of Biological Sciences, SAS; Ph.D., Florida State
Expression and regulation of lipid biosynthetic genes
Richard
H. Merritt, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D.,
Rutgers
Environmental and physiological factors affecting crop
production in greenhouses
Joachim W. Messing, University
Professor of Molecular Biology; Director of the Waksman Institute of
Microbiology; Ph.D., Munich (Germany)
Functional genomics breeding
William A. Meyer, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS;
Associate Director, Center for Turfgrass Science; Ph.D., Illinois
Turfgrass breeding; disease resistance; endophytes
Thomas J. Molnar, Assistant Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Rutgers
Plant genetic improvement; underutilized nut crops and woody ornamentals
James
Murphy, Associate Extension Specialist in Turfgrass Management, SEBS;
Ph.D., Michigan State
Development of management systems that minimize
stress and improve turf performance
Elwin R. Orton Jr.,
Research Professor of Ornamental Horticulture, SEBS; Ph.D., Wisconsin
Intra- and interspecific hybridization of trees and shrubs
Thomas J. Orton, Extension Specialist in Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Michigan State
Developmental genetics of fruit composition
Peter Oudemans, Associate Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS;
Ph.D., California (Riverside)
Fungal plant diseases; population biology
of fungi
Ilya Raskin, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Michigan State
Phytopharmaceuticals; molecular biochemistry
Mark G. Robson, Professor of Entomology and Director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, SEBS; Ph.D., Rutgers
Horticulture, public health
John N. Sacalis,
Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Rutgers
Postproduction physiology of floricultural crops
James E.
Simon, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D.,
Massachusetts (Amherst)
Natural plant products; new crops, germplasm,
and breeding
Lena Struwe,
Associate Professor of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources/Plant
Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Stockholm (Sweden)
Evolutionary history, diversity, and biogeography of gentians and relatives
Nilgun E. Tumer, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Purdue
Molecular biology of plant viruses; virus replication; disease resistance; plant transformation
Nicholi Vorsa, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Director,
Marucci Center for Blueberry and Cranberry Research and Extension;
Ph.D., Rutgers
Genetic and cytological studies in blueberries and cranberries
James F. White, Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D.,
Texas
Systematic mycology; studies of endophytes and epibionts
George J. Wulster, Professor and Extension Specialist in Plant Biology
and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Rutgers
Root growth and physiology activity
Ning Zhang, Assistant Professor of Plant Biology and Pathology and of Biochemistry and Microbiology, SEBS; Ph.D., Louisiana State
Population; evolutionary biology; molecular detection of fungi on grasses
Barbara A. Zilinskas, Professor of Plant Biochemistry, SEBS; Ph.D., Illinois
Molecular biology; physiology of environmental stress response
Gladis Zinati, Assistant Extension Specialist in Plant Biology and
Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Michigan
Nursery crops; environmentally sound
plant production
Associate Members of the Graduate Faculty
Rong Di, Assistant Research Professor of Biotechnology, SEBS, Ph.D., Iowa State
Mechanisms of shiga-like toxins produced by E. coli 0157:H7; development of molecular techniques for food safety
James J. Polashock, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA-ARS Fruit Lab,
Blueberry/Cranberry Research Center; Ph.D., Rutgers
Plant breeding and genetic improvement; plant pathology; blueberry and strawberry improvement
Adjunct Member of the Graduate Faculty
Jo Anne Crouch, Research Associate in Plant Biology and Pathology, SEBS; Ph.D., Rutgers
Genome evolution and population biology of plant pathogenic fungi