John Vogel

Dr. Vogel joined JGI in 2014 to establish a plant functional genomics program. Prior to this, he served as a Research Molecular Biologist at the USDA for 12 years where he was a driving force behind the development of numerous genomic resources that fostered the widespread adoption of Brachypodium distachyon as an experimental model for the grasses. In addition to this fundamental work, he established an efficient switchgrass transformation pipeline and, in collaboration with industrial partners, generated hundreds of transgenic switchgrass lines in an effort to create improved varieties for biomass production. He did his postdoctoral studies at the Carnegie Institution for Science where he studied the molecular basis of a plant host’s susceptibility to pathogens. Dr. Vogel’s current research is focused on developing plant functional genomic resources (e.g. sequenced mutant collections, transformation technology, epigenetic analysis techniques) and utilizing these resources to understand genome organization and regulation, abiotic stress tolerance, and the mechanisms by which plants interact with their microbiomes. In addition, his group conducts comparative genomic research to understand the evolutionary and practical significance of plant pan-genomes including understanding polyploid genome evolution in a pan-genomic context.