Graduate Fields are composed of faculty members with research interests related to the field of study. Most members of a given Graduate Field are faculty in the corresponding SIPS Section, but some have appointments within other SIPS Sections, other departments at Cornell, or are affiliated with USDA or the Boyce Thompson Institute.

Headshot of a man with red framed glasses
Stephane Bentolila

Associate Research Professor

Molecular Biology and Genetics

Stephane Bentolila
  • sb46 [at] cornell.edu
Organelle genetics
RNA editing
Cytoplasmic male sterility
thomas bjorkman
Thomas Björkman

Professor Emeritus

School of Integrative Plant Science

Horticulture Section

Cornell AgriTech

Thomas Björkman
  • tnb1 [at] cornell.edu
Vegetable crop physiology
Cover crops
Establishing year-round Eastern broccoli industry
Adam Bogdanove
Adam Bogdanove

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section

Adam Bogdanove
Bacterial blight and bacterial leaf streak of rice
Transcription activator-like (TAL) effector proteins
Genome editing and custom gene regulation
Clare Casteel
Clare Casteel

Associate Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section

Clare Casteel
  • clc269 [at] cornell.edu
Viral plant pathogens
Plant-virus-vector interactions
Molecular basis of plant virus defenses
Joyce Onyenedum
Joyce Gloria Onyenedum

Assistant Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Joyce Gloria Onyenedum
  • jgc235 [at] cornell.edu
Plant systematics and phylogeny
Evolution of development of plant anatomy and morphology
Plant vasculature
William Crepet
William Crepet

Professor and Chair

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

William Crepet
Plant systematics and phylogeny
Flowering plants
Paleobotany
Jeffrey J Doyle
Jeffrey Doyle

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

Jeffrey Doyle
Genome duplication
Comparative genomics
Legume systematics and origin of nodulation
Zhangjun Fei
Zhangjun Fei

Adjunct Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section

Zhangjun Fei
  • zf25 [at] cornell.edu
Computational analysis of large datasets
Modeling regulatory networks
Margaret Frank
Margaret Frank

Assistant Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Margaret Frank
  • mhf47 [at] cornell.edu
Grafting
Genomics and phenomics tools for trait analysis
Susheng Gan
Susheng Gan

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Susheng Gan
Plant senescence
Dimensional control of gene expression
Jim Giovannoni
James Giovannoni

Adjunct Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

James Giovannoni
  • jjg33 [at] cornell.edu
Genetic regulation of fruit ripening
Fruit quality and nutritional composition.
Tomatoes
laura gunn with Ithaca is Gorges mug
Laura Gunn

Assistant Professor

Plant Biology Section

School of Integrative Plant Science

Laura Gunn
  • lhg42 [at] cornell.edu
Carbon fixation Synthetic biology
Structural biology
Synthetic biology
Maureen Hanson
Maureen Hanson

Liberty Hyde Bailey Professor

Molecular Biology and Genetics

Maureen Hanson
Gene expression in plant organelles
Photosynthetic enhancement
Molecular basis of myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome
Maria Harrison
Maria Harrison

Adjunct Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section

Maria Harrison
Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis
Phosphate acquisition
Jian Hua
Jian Hua

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Jian Hua
Environmental responses; Adaptation; temperature; immunity; plants
Georg Jander
Georg Jander

Adjunct Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Georg Jander
Plant-insect interactions
Plant amino acid metabolism
Arabidopsis
andre kessler
Andre Kessler

Associate Professor

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Andre Kessler
leon kochian
Leon Kochian

Adjunct Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Soil and Crop Sciences Section

Leon Kochian
  • leon.kochian [at] gifs.ca
Molecular biology, physiology, and genetics of mineral ion transport.
Root biology and architecture roles in nutrient acquisition.
Abiotic environmental stresses.
Fay=Wei Li
Fay-Wei Li

Adjunct Associate Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Fay-Wei Li
Li Li
Li Li

Adjunct Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

Li Li
Crop nutritional quality improvement
Chromoplast and chloroplast biology
Plant secondary metabolism, micronutrient nutrition, and metabolic engineering
Sijin Li
Sijin Li

Assistant Professor, Robert Frederick Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering

Sijin Li
  • sijin.li [at] cornell.edu
headshot of Jiping Liu
Jiping Liu

Adjunct Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

Jiping Liu
Plant resistance to soil-based abiotic stresses, focusing on low-pH (acidic), aluminum, and heavy-metal stresses
Plant mineral nutrition with an emphasis on mineral transport and allocation
Root development under abiotic stresses
Gregory Martin
Gregory Martin

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Pathology and Plant-Microbe Biology Section

Gregory Martin
Molecular mechanisms of bacterial pathogenesis
Molecular basis of plant immunity
susan mccouch
Susan McCouch

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

Professor

Computational Biology

Susan McCouch
Complex trait variation in rice
Enhancing the performance of modern rice cultivars
Guarav Moghe
Gaurav Moghe

Assistant Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Gaurav Moghe
Evolution of plant specialized metabolism
plant natural variation; genomics
metabolomics
Martha Ann Mutschler-Chu
Martha Mutschler-Chu

Professor Emeritus

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

Martha Mutschler-Chu
Tomato and onion breeding and genomics
Disease and insect resistance
Intellectual property
June Nasrallah
June Nasrallah

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

June Nasrallah
Plant reproduction
Self-incompatibility
Receptor-ligand interactions and cell-cell signaling
karl niklas
Karl Niklas

Emeritus Faculty

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Karl Niklas
  • kjn2 [at] cornell.edu
Maria Gandolfo
Maria Alejandra Gandolfo Nixon

Associate Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Maria Alejandra Gandolfo Nixon
Paleobotany
Diversification and evolution of angiosperms
Plant anatomy
Kevin Nixon
Kevin Nixon

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Kevin Nixon
  • kcn2 [at] cornell.edu
Theory and methodology of phylogenetic analysis
Angiosperm phylogeny
Systematics and taxonomy of the oak family
Wojtek Pawlowski
Wojtek Pawlowski

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

Wojtek Pawlowski
Meiotic recombination
Advanced microscopy methods
Recombination and genome rearrangements in new polyploids
Miguel A Pineros
Miguel Pineros

Adjunct Associate Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Miguel Pineros
  • map25 [at] cornell.edu
Crop adaptation to soil abiotic stresses
Bioavailability of iron, zinc and phytochemicals
robert raguso
Robert Raguso

Professor

Neurobiology and Behavior

Robert Raguso
Eric Richards
Eric Richards

Adjunct Professor

Molecular Biology and Genetics

Eric Richards
  • ejr77 [at] cornell.edu
Epigenetics
Nuclear cell biology
Adrienne Roeder
Adrienne Roeder

Associate Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Adrienne Roeder
Development and patterning of specialized cell types
Plant cell imaging
jocelyn rose
Jocelyn Rose

Director

School of Integrative Plant Science

Barbara McClintock Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Jocelyn Rose
Plant structural polymers, cell wall structure and function
Cuticles and plant surfaces
Fruit biology
Michael Scanlon
Mike Scanlon

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Mike Scanlon
Mechanisms of meristem and leaf development
Evolution of plant morphology
Arabidopsis, tomato, Selaginella, and Physcomitrella
Tim Setter
Tim Setter

Retired Faculty

School of Integrative Plant Science

Soil and Crop Sciences Section

Plant Breeding and Genetics Section

Tim Setter
Maize, wheat and cassava breeding and genomics
Drought and environmental stress physiology
International agriculture
Jed Sparks

Professor

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Jed Sparks
Chelsea D. Specht
Chelsea Specht

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Chelsea Specht
Plant diversity
Comparative genomics
Evolutionary biology
David Stern
David Stern

Adjunct Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

David Stern
Chloroplast biology
Bioenergy
Nuclear-cytoplasmic interactions
Dennis Stevenson
Dennis Stevenson

Adjunct Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Dennis Stevenson
  • ds384 [at] cornell.edu
Cycads
Monocots
Genomics
Robert Turgeon
Robert Turgeon

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Robert Turgeon
Leaf development
Plasmodesmata structure and function
Phloem transport and virus movement
Klaas van Wijk
Klaas van Wijk

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Klaas van Wijk
Molecular genetics and protein biochemistry
Mass-spectrometry-driven proteomics and metabolomics
Chloroplast biogenesis and protein homeostasis in Arabidopsis and differentiation in maize
Olena Vatamaniuk
Olena Vatamaniuk

Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Olena Vatamaniuk
Functional genomics of mineral nutrient homeostasis
Toxic metal detoxification and phytoremediation
Biofortification
randy wayne
Randy Wayne

Associate Professor

School of Integrative Plant Science

Plant Biology Section

Randy Wayne
Biophysics of plant cell biology
Biological instruction