Division Directors

July 26, 2023

Dojin (DJ) Ryu

Educational background Ph.D., Food Science and Technology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1997 M.S., Food Science and Human Nutrition, University of Missouri, 1992 B.S., Food Science and Technology, Korea University, Seoul, Korea, 1989…

April 5, 2021

Heike Buecking

Plants are metaorganisms that engage in intimate associations with a wide diversity of microorganisms. Many of these microorganisms are beneficial and help plants to overcome a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses. In our research, we focus particularly on arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and nitrogen fixing rhizobia bacteria. AM fungi played a significant role during land plant evolution and form close interactions with the roots of 70% of land plants, including many agronomically important species, such as corn, soybean, or wheat. AM fungi increase the nutrient acquisition of for example phosphate, nitrogen, sulfur, and potassium from the soil, and improve…

Sep. 6, 2019

Michael S. Chapman

Structural Virology – Host Interactions: The US Food & Drug Administration has now approved two gene replacement therapies: Luxturna™ (2017), a treatment for congenital blindness and Zolgenesma™ (2019) for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). 1,500 SMA infants have now been treated for this debilitating and fatal genetic disorder. These, and treatments for hemophilia and other diseases, use recombinant rAAV vectors to deliver DNA to afflicted cells. Our structure-function analyses provide a fundamental understanding of the atomic interactions key to cell entry, trafficking, and immune neutralization.  These foundations are needed for the engineering of gene therapy vectors that are efficient and specific enough…

Nov. 3, 2017

Patrick S. Market

The morphology and evolution of extratropical cyclones, jet streak-frontal interactions, heavy rainfall and snowfall forecasting, and precipitation efficiency, are primary research areas. Educational background Ph.D. Meteorology, Saint Louis University, 1999 Courses taught Weather Observation Advanced Synoptic Meteorology Numerical Weather Prediction…

Aug. 14, 2017

Bryon Wiegand

Aug. 9, 2017

Harvey S. James, Jr.

Harvey S. James, Jr., Ph.D., is Professor of Agricultural and Applied Economics in the Division of Applied Social Sciences at the University of Missouri. James’s research focuses on applied ethics and the economic foundations of trust, happiness, and ethical behavior. He is currently conducting research on how the structure of agricultural networks affects perceptions of fairness and how cognitive biases contribute to problems of foodborne illness outbreaks. His edited book, Handbook on the Human Impact of Agriculture, which explores the effects of agriculture and the agrifood system on farmers and non-farmers, was published in 2021. His previous edited books include…