Dr. Josh Widhalm comes to the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture from the Department of Biochemistry at Purdue University, where he studied the biosynthesis of phenylalanine and phenylalanine-derived natural products in plants. For the last three years, Josh has been a Life Sciences Research Foundation Fellow sponsored by The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Josh earned his Ph.D. in Agronomy via the Center for Plant Science Innovation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln working on plant quinone metabolism. He also received his M.S. in Horticulture and B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Josh’s current research is centered around plant allelochemicals, natural products released into the environment that influence the growth and development of other species. He is particularly interested in elucidating the biosynthesis of the allelopathic naphthoquinones shikonin and juglone, and in investigating their metobolic connection with quinones involved in primary metabolism. His research on allelopathic naphthoquinones will also encompass deciphering the molecular mechanisms involved in their release into the environment, determining their biochemical modes of action, and exploring their roles in promoting (a)biotic stress resistance. The long term goal of Josh’s research program is to translate the gained basic knowledge into innovative strategies to harness plant allelochemicals for crop improvement.
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