Josh Widhalm

Title:

Associate Professor of Horticulture

PhD Granting Institution:

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Contact:

Email Address: jwidhalm@purdue.edu
Office Phone: 765-496-3891
Lab Website Link: http://hort.purdue.edu/widhalm

Primary Training Group:

Plant Biology

Secondary Training Groups:

Biotechnology

Research Areas:

Plant specialized metabolism Synthetic biology Photosynthetic sea slug kleptoplasty

Current Projects:

1. Elucidating metabolic pathways of quinones involved in photosynthesis and respiration. 2. Engineering the production of natural product-based herbicides in crops. 3. Investigating the molecular mechanisms of chloroplast thievery in photosynthetic sea slugs.

Importance of Interdisciplinary Research:

Training students to employ concepts, ideas, and approaches from various disciplines fosters their development as independent scientists. Scientists trained in an interdisciplinary research environment gain enhanced perspectives for scrutinizing data and observations, along with a broader toolkit for addressing important research questions.