Esther van der Knaap
Professor; Emphasis: Tomatoes, plant development, genetics & genomics Horticulture Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics (IPBGG)
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UGA Athens Campus
Office: CAGT
Laboratory: CAGT
Dr. van der Knaap is a plant geneticist and molecular biologist. In September 2015, she moved her program to Horticulture and the Center of Applied Genetic Technologies at the University of Georgia, Athens. Her research is focused on the regulation of fruit shape and size of tomato and other Solanaceous crops. Dr. van der Knaap has made revolutionary advances in deciphering the molecular mechanisms affecting the shape and size of agricultural produce. In research funded by the National Sciences Foundation and the US Department of Agriculture, van der Knaap and her colleagues have analyzed the genomes of several hundred tomato varieties, providing novel insight into the drivers of morphological advances in modern day crops. Her groundbreaking discoveries of the genes that affect tomato’s appearance leads the way to similar discoveries in other vegetables and fruit crops.
Appointments
- 7% Teaching
- 88% Research
- 5% Service
Teaching
- BIOL4960R Faculty-Mentored Undergraduate Research I
- CHEM4960R Faculty-Mentored Undergraduate Research I
Education
- Ph.D. Genetics, Michigan State University, 1998
- B.S./M.S. Plant Pathology, Wageningen University, 1990
