Edgar Cahoon

Edgar Cahoon is the George Holmes University Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Director of the Center for Plant Science Innovation at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has more than 30 years of experience in plant biochemistry and biotechnology, including prior positions at DuPont Crop Genetics, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, and USDA-ARS. His research integrates biochemistry, functional genomics, and synthetic biology to elucidate and engineer plant lipid and antioxidant pathways for enhanced oilseed and biomass crops. His team develops improved soybean and camelina germplasm for applications including aquaculture feed and sustainable aviation fuel, while also advancing fundamental knowledge of sphingolipid and fatty acid metabolism. He currently leads a $12.8 million U.S. Department of Energy project focused on plant fatty acid synthase and synthetic biology tools for next-generation renewable oilseed crops. Dr. Cahoon has authored more than 185 publications and holds 35 U.S. patents. He is a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and in 2017 received an honorary doctorate in Plant Breeding from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.