Brian Staskawicz received his Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1980. He is currently a Professor in the Plant and Microbial Biology Department and the Scientific Director of Agricultural Genomics at the Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI). Staskawicz has made many seminal contributions to the understanding of infection strategies of plant pathogens and defense mechanisms of plants. These include the cloning of the first pathogen effector gene and the cloning and characterization of one of the first plant NLR immune receptors.
Staskawicz and his colleagues also played a major role in establishing Arabidopsis. as a model system to study the molecular basis of microbial recognition by plants and genetically dissect defense signaling pathways. More recently, he is leading an effort at the IGI in the genome editing of agriculture crops for biotic and abiotic stress resistance and improved plant performance.
He is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences and has been elected a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society and a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
Professional position
- Professor of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley
