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Steven Scofield (Steve)

Research Leader

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Steve Scofield

Dr. Scofield is a Research Plant Geneticist and Research leader for the Crop Production and Pest Control Research Unit (CPPC).  His research focuses on two main areas, dissection of the mechanisms of the plant immune system and development of tools for identifying the function of plant genes. In his experimentation in molecular plant pathology, he was the first to demonstrate direct interaction between a pathogen secreted effector and its cognate disease resistance gene and how resistance gene structure determines specificity of recognition.  He is now working to utilize our understanding of R-gene pathogen recognition to engineer existing resistance pathways to provide resistance to new pathogens.  He is also known for his work in developing tools for identification of plant gene function.  He developed the first virus-induced gene silencing system (VIGS) for cereal crops and used it to identify genes involved in resistance Fusarium head blight and other diseases of wheat.  Currently, he is working to develop efficient genotype-independent cereal transformation.