Plant and Crop Physiology and Biochemistry

Promoting sustainable crop production, improving plant productivity and quality, reducing postharvest losses, understanding how plants sense and respond to abiotic stress, probing the diversity of plant specialized metabolism, and understanding fundamental mechanisms of growth and development

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Faculty Interest and Expertise

Cornelius Barry

Associate Professor
Biochemical Evolution of Specialized Metabolism within the Solanaceae Family; Genetic Determinants of Fruit Quality and Ripening
barrycs@msu.edu
(517) 884-6959
Randy Beaudry

Professor
Postharvest biology and technology; controlled atmosphere storage of pome fruit, modified atmosphere packaging; sugarbeet storage, ripening biology and aroma volatile biochemistry.
beaudry@msu.edu
(517) 353-0303
Daniel Brainard

Associate Professor
Development of reduced-tillage, cover-crop intensive vegetable production systems; weed ecology and management, with an emphasis on seed biology
brainar9@msu.edu
517-353-0417
Bert Cregg

Professor
Physiology and management of trees in landscapes and nursery production
cregg@msu.edu
517-353-0335
Todd Einhorn

Associate Professor
Tree fruit physiology, plant-water relations, rootstock biology, plant growth regulation
einhornt@msu.edu
(517) 353-0430
Tom Fernandez

Professor
Sustainability of wholesale production nurseries, water management and quality
fernan15@msu.edu
517-353-0336
Rebecca Grumet

Professor
Reproductive development in Cucumis; regulation of sex-expression; disease resistance; biotechnology biosafety; cucurbit genomics.
grumet@msu.edu
517-353-0431
Kyung-Hwan Han, Ph.D.

Professor
Molecular biology of secondary growth; secondary wall biosynthesis; feedstock development for bioenergy and biomaterials; drought tolerance
hanky@msu.edu
517-803-9418
Courtney Hollender

Assistant Professor
Molecular Genetics, Plant Development, Fruit Tree Physiology
chollend@msu.edu
(517) 353-0446
Ning Jiang

Professor
Function of transposable elements; mechanisms of genome diversification; computational and molecular biology.
jiangn@msu.edu
517-353-0381
Muraleedharan Nair

Professor
Bioactive natural products: Functional foods and Phytoceuticals. Discovery, isolation, purification, identification and standardization of bioactive molecules; efficacy, dose and toxicity evaluation; formulation and process development.
nairm@msu.edu
(517) 353-0406
Erik Runkle

Professor
Lighting applications in greenhouses and indoor vertical farms; light-emitting diodes; greenhouse energy conservation; crop production in controlled environments
runkleer@msu.edu
(517) 353-0350
Paolo Sabbatini

Associate Professor
Grapevine physiology; photosynthetic carbon assimilation and partitioning; viticulture; cultivar evaluation of Michigan.
sabbatin@msu.edu
(517) 353-0302
Guo-Qing Song

Associate Professor
Improvement of horticultural crops using genomics, genetic, and biotechnological tools; development of efficient plant micropropagation, regeneration and transformation techniques.
songg@msu.edu
(517) 353-0384
Steve van Nocker

Professor
Developmental genetics of plants, traits important for production including flowering, chromatin regulation of gene expression
vannocke@msu.edu
(517) 353-0394
Ryan Warner

Associate Professor
Genetics of plant development; genomics-assisted breeding; marker-assisted selection; floriculture crops.
warnerry@msu.edu
(517) 353-0344

Facilities

Horticulture Teaching Greenhouses

1066 Bogue St East Lansing, MI 48824

These glass greenhouses are used primarily for teaching horticulture production classes.
Plant Science Greenhouses

1059 Farm Ln East Lansing, MI 48824

Located near the corner of Farm Ln and Wilson Rd, the Plant Science Greenhouses are utilized by Horticulture faculty, as well as other departments for plant science research.
Research Technology Support Facility

612 Wilson Road S-20 East Lansing, MI 48824

The Research Technology Support Facility at Michigan State University is a collection of five analytical facilities which provide the fundamental tools for modern life science research.
The Plant Biotechnology Resource and Outreach Center

1066 Bogue St East Lansing, MI 48824

The PBROC is dedicated to the safe deployment of plant biotechnological advancements to Michigan and the world.