Pew Scholar in biomedical sciences

Congratulations to Bob Schmitz, assistant professor of genetics, who was recently named a Pew scholar in the biomedical sciences by the Pew Charitable Trusts.

Schmitz, an assistant professor of genetics in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, joins the ranks of more than 600 outstanding scientists who have been selected as Pew scholars in the 30 years since the program's inception and whose careers have been dedicated to bold scientific discoveries.

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Schmitz's research focuses on epigenetics. His laboratory is particularly interested in exploring a phenomenon known as DNA methylation and how this process affects the expression of traits of plants used in both agriculture and basic research.

"The long-term goal of my lab is to learn about mechanisms that control establishment and maintenance of DNA methylation such that we can engineer these pathways to specifically control gene expression," said Schmitz, who is also a member of UGA's Plant Center. "The results of our research will not only increase our understanding of how organisms program and maintain proper expression of genes, but it will also lead to new techniques to improve yield and nutritional value of a variety of crops."

Advances in sequencing technology put creative researchers like Dr. Schmitz, and institutions like UGA, at the leading edge of world-changing breakthroughs. Our congratulations, and thanks to the Pew Charitable Trusts for supporting important research nation-wide and around the world.