CABBI Personnel
Evan H. DeLucia: CABBI Director
DeLucia is the G. William Arends Professor of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Baum Family Director of the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE).
Much of DeLucia’s research through the years has centered on the reaction of plant communities, forests, and agriculture to human-accelerated global climate change.
After completing his B.A. at Bennington College and working as a teaching fellow at Phillips Andover Academy, DeLucia completed a M.F.S. (1982) in Forest Ecology at Yale University and a Ph.D. (1986) in Plant Ecology and Physiology at Duke University. He arrived at Illinois in 1986, and he since has served as Department Head in Plant Biology, and Director of the School of Integrative Biology. He also was Founding Director of the Program in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the U of I.
Vijay Singh: Deputy Director for Science & Technology
Singh, a Distinguished Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is the Director of the Integrated Bioprocessing Research Laboratory (IBRL). He will lead CABBI commercialization efforts. Singh has years of experience directing federally-funded research projects and has collaborated with dozens of industry partners in his internationally renowned research to develop bioprocessing technologies for food, advanced biofuels, and industrial products. Singh holds 11 patents — five of which are licensed to major industrial biotech and engineering companies. He received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Engineering in 1998 from Illinois.
Donald Ort: Deputy Director for Research & Development
Ort is the Robert Emerson Professor of Plant Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He will lead CABBI’s scientific efforts. An expert in photosynthesis as well as photosynthetic energy transduction, Ort researches subjects ranging from improving photosynthetic efficiency to the molecular and biochemical basis of environmental interactions with crop plants to ecological genomics. He has developed high-throughput imaging chlorophyll fluorescence systems for rapid non-destructive identification of cross progeny and transformants with improved photosynthetic efficiency. He received his Ph.D. in Plant Biochemistry in 1974 from Michigan State University.
CABBI Leadership Chart
The Scientists
An alphabetical listing of all Primary Investigators and co-PIs. For the full team listing by theme, and more about the theme leaders, please visit the Feedstock Production, Conversion, and Sustainability pages. Or click on the icons next to the scientists names:
= Feedstock Production
= Conversion
= Sustainability
A-F
Lisa Ainsworth, USDA ARS Global Change and Photosynthesis Research, Urbana, IL
Fredy Altpeter, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology, University of Florida
Brian Baldwin, Professor of Plant and Soil Sciences, Mississippi State University
Carl Bernacchi, USDA ARS Global Change and Photosynthesis Research, Urbana, IL
Edward Brzostek, Asst. Professor of Forest Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling, West Virginia University
Edgar Cahoon, Professor of Biochemistry, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Ximing Cai, Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Li-Qing Chen, Assistant Professor of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Thomas Clemente, Professor of Biotechnology, University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Evan H. DeLucia, Professor of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Bruce Dien, Research Chemical Engineer, U.S. Dept. of Ag. Agricultural Research Service, Peoria, IL
James Dumesic, Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Adrien Finzi, Professor of Biology, Boston University
David Flaherty, Asst. Prof. of Chem. and Biomolecular Eng., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
G-L
Kaiyu Guan, Asst. Prof. of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, U. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Jeremy Guest, Asst. Prof. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Anna Hale, Research Geneticist, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service, Houma, LA
Emily Heaton, Associate Professor of Agronomy, Iowa State University
Adina Howe, Asst. Professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University
Tara Hudiburg, Assistant Professor of Forest, Rangeland & Fire Sciences, University of Idaho
Matthew Hudson, Prof. of Crop Sciences, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Deputy Theme Leader)
Yong-Su Jin, Assoc. Prof. of Food Microbiology, Asst. Prof. of Bioeng., University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Angela Kent, Assoc. Prof. of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Madhu Khanna, Prof. of Ag. and Consumer Econ., University of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign (Theme Leader)
Andrew Leakey, Associate Professor of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DoKyoung Lee, Associate Professor of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Chang-Jun Liu, Researcher, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Stephen P. Long, Professor of Crop Sciences and Plant Biology, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ting Lu, Assoc. Prof. of Bioeng., Asst. Prof. of Physics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Yi Lu, Professor of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M-R
Amy Marshall-Colón, Assistant Professor of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Sergei Maslov, Professor of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Stephen Moose, Professor of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Theme Leader)
Jesse Morrison, Research Associate of Plant and Soil Sciences, Mississippi State University
Donald Ort, Professor of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
William Parton, Senior Research Scientist, Colorado State University
Jian Peng, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Brian Pfleger, Assoc. Prof. of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin at Madison
Nathan Price, Associate Director and Professor, Institute for Systems Biology
Joshua Rabinowitz, Professor of Chemistry, Princeton University (Deputy Theme Leader)
Christopher Rao, Prof. of Chem. and Biomolecular Eng., U. of Ill. at Urbana-C. (Deputy Theme Leader)
Nancy Reichert, Professor of Biological Sciences, Mississippi State University
Daniel Rokhsar, Prof. of Genetics, Genomics and Development, University of California at Berkeley
S-Z
Erik Sacks, Associate Professor of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jörg Schwender, Researcher, Brookhaven National Laboratory
John Shanklin, Researcher, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Vijay Singh, Prof. of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Saurabh Sinha, Prof. of Computer Science, Assoc. Prof. of Bioeng., University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Patricia Slininger, Research Chem. Engineer, U.S. Dept. of Ag. Agricultural Research Service, Peoria, IL
Anthony Studer, Asst. Professor of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Kankshita Swaminathan, Faculty Investigator, HudsonAlpha Inst. of Biotech. (Deputy Theme Leader)
Jonathan Sweedler, Professor of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Andy VanLoocke, Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Iowa State University (Deputy Theme Leader)
Thomas Voigt, Professor of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Martin Wühr, Asst. Prof. of Molecular Bio. / Lewis-Sigler Inst. for Integrative Genomics, Princeton U.
Changcheng Xu, Researcher, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Wendy Yang, Asst. Prof. of Plant Biology, University of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign (Deputy Theme Leader)
Yasuo Yoshikuni, Biologist/Staff Scientist, Envtl. Genomics and Systems Bio. Div., L. Berkeley Nat’l. Lab.
Chengxiang Zhai, Professor of Computer Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Huimin Zhao, Prof. of Chem. and Biomolecular Eng., U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Theme Leader)
The Operating Team
An alphabetical listing of all postdocs, research technicians, and graduate students doing CABBI research. For the full team listing by theme, and more about the theme leaders, please visit the Feedstock Production, Conversion, and Sustainability pages.
A-F
Sarah Acquah, Agric. and Consumer Economics Postdoc (Khanna), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Kara Allen, Biology Postdoc (Brzostek), West Virginia University
Priyanka Baloni, Systems Biology Postdoc (Price), Institute for Systems Biology
Mohammad Belaffif, Genomics Postdoc (Swaminathan), HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology
Danielle Berardi, Ecology Ph.D. Candidate (Hudiburg), University of Idaho
Nic Boersma, Agronomy Research Scientist (Heaton), Iowa State University
Taylor Bozman, Plant Biology Field/Lab Technician (Yang), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Bryant Brown, Greenhouse Manager (Altpeter), University of Florida
Jessica Bubert, Crop Sciences Ph.D. Candidate (Moose), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Mark Burnham, Plant Biology/iSEE Postdoc (Yang), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Mingfeng Cao, Chem. and Biomolecular Eng. Research Scientist (Zhao), Univ. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Setu Chakrabarty, iSEE Postdoc (Leakey), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Luoye Chen, Ag. & Applied Economics Ph.D. Candidate (Khanna), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Ming-Hsun Cheng, Ag. and Biological Eng. Postdoc (Singh), University of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign
Kisurb Choe, Microbiology Ph.D. Candidate (Sweedler), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jinlyung Choi, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Postdoc (Howe), Iowa State University
Yoel Cortes-Peña, Civil and Envtl. Eng. M.S. Candidate (Guest), U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Prabin Dhungana, Plant Biology Ph.D. Candidate (Reichert), Mississippi State University
Payam Dibaeinia, Bioinformatics M.S. Candidate (Sinha), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Desarae Echevarria, Civil and Envtl. Eng. M.S. Candidate (Guest), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Behnam Enghiad, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate (Zhao), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Zia Fatma, iSEE Postdoc (Zhao), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Kelsie Ferin, Agricultural Meteorology Ph.D. Candidate (VanLoocke), Iowa State University
G-L
Zhengxiang Ge, Research Technologist (Clemente), University of Nebraska at Lincoln
Arian Ghorbanpour, iSEE Postdoc (Flaherty), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Marc-Andre Giasson, Biogeochemistry Lab Technician (Finzi), Boston University
Andrew Greenhaw, Field Technician (Baldwin), Mississippi State University
Meera Gupta, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate (Wühr), Princeton University
Paul Hanke, Chemical Engineering Research Technician (Zhao), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Melannie Hartman, Ecology Programmer/Analyst (Parton), Colorado State University
Sachin Heerah, Plant Biology Ph.D. Candidate (Marshall-Colón), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Jacob Heldenbrand, Research Programmer (Hudson), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Madara Hetti Arachchilage, iSEE Postdoc (Marshall-Colón), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
I-Fang Hsieh, Biology Ph.D. Candidate (Finzi), Boston University
Ping-Hung Hsieh, Biology Postdoc (Yoshikuni), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Yizhi Huang, Computer Science M.S. Candidate (Guan/Peng), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Sujit Jagtap, Chem. and Biomolecular Eng. Postdoc (Rao), University of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign
Avarna Jain, Plant Biology Field Research Specialist (DeLucia/Yang), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Brandon James, Molecular Biology Postdoc (Swaminathan), HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology
Chongya Jiang, Natural Resources and Envtl. Sciences Postdoc (Guan), U. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Stephen Jinga, Crop Sciences M.S. Candidate (Moose), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Majid Shafiee Jood, Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. Candidate (Cai), U. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Jeff Kent, Forestry Postdoc (Hudiburg), University of Idaho
Hae Jin Kim, Biochemistry Postdoc (Cahoon), University of Nebraska
Sang Yeol Kim, Plant Biology Research Scientist (Ort), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Baskaran Kannan, Biological Scientist (Altpeter), University of Florida
Jordan Koos, Graduate Hourly Researcher (Kent), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Nurzhan Kuanyshev, iSEE Bioengineering Postdoc (Jin), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Nicholas LaBonte, Crop Sciences Postdoc (Sacks), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Stephan Lane, Food Science & Human Nutrition Ph.D. Candidate (Jin), U. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Dan Lanier, Crop Sciences Academic Hourly Researcher (Hudson), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Jaejin Lee, Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Postdoc (Howe), Iowa State University
Jaewon Lee, Food Science & Human Nutrition Ph.D. Candidate (Jin), U. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Carrie Leibensperger, Civil and Envtl. Eng. M.S. Candidate (Cai), U. of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Shuai Li, Plant Biology Postdoc (Ainsworth), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Yijia Li, Agricultural and Applied Economics Ph.D. Candidate (Khanna), U. of Ill. at U.-C.
Sarah Lipps, IGB Academic Hourly Researcher (Sacks), University of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign
Jing-Jing Liu, IGB Postdoc (Rao), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Eleanor Lucadamo, Natural Resources & Envtl. Sciences M.S. Candidate (Kent), U. of Ill. at U.-C.
Guangbin Luo, Agronomy Postdoc (Altpeter), University of Florida
Yunan Luo, Computer Science Ph.D. Candidate (Peng), U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Susan Lutz, Technical/Research Support (Parton), Colorado State University
M-R
Fahd Majeed, Agricultural and Applied Economics Ph.D. Candidate (Khanna), U. of Ill. at U.-C.
W. Lance Martin, Senior Scientist (Wühr), Princeton University
Hiroshi Matsushima, Agric. and Applied Economics Ph.D. Candidate (Khanna), U. of Ill. at U.-C.
Daniel McClelland, Chemical Engineering Postdoc (Dumesic), University of Wisconsin
Therese Mitros, Applications Programmer (Rokhsar), University of California at Berkeley
Caitlin Moore, Plant Biology Postdoc (Bernacchi), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Eberhard Morgenroth, iSEE Visiting Scholar (Guest), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Himaya Mula-Michel, Agronomy Postdoc (Hale), U.S. Dept. of Ag. Agricultural Research Service
Jessica Mulcrone, Plant Biology Field/Lab Technician (Yang), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Hans Müller Paul, Animal Sciences Ph.D. Candidate (Hudson), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Tara Nazarenus, Plant Lipid Biology Research Technician (Cahoon), University of Nebraska
Thao Nguyen, Chemical and Biological Engineering Ph.D. Candidate (Wühr), Princeton U.
Congjian Ni, Biophysics and Quantum Biology Ph.D. Candidate (T. Lu), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Tufan Oz, Agronomy Postdoc (Altpeter), University of Florida
Ki Youl Park, Plant Lipid Biology Postdoc (Cahoon), University of Nebraska
Taylor Pederson, Plant Biology Lab & Field Research Tech. (Bernacchi), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Matthew Plutz, Chem. & Biomolecular Eng. Senior Research Scientist (Rao), U. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Truyen Quach, Plant Science Research Professor (Clemente), University of Nebraska
Ryan Quinn, Biology Ph.D. Candidate (Finzi), Boston University
Sierra Raglin, Natural Resources and Envt. Sciences M.S. Candidate (Kent), U. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Joanna Ridgeway, Biology Ph.D. Candidate (Brzostek), West Virginia University
Lillia Ryazanova, Research Specialist (Wühr), Princeton University
S-Z
Mustafa Saiffudin, Biology Ph.D. Candidate (Finzi), Boston University
August Schetter, Crop Sciences M.S. Candidate (Lee), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Yihui Shen, Chemistry Postdoc (Rabinowitz), Princeton University
Rui Shi, Engineering Postdoc (Guest), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tong Si, Carl R. Woese Inst. for Genomic Bio. Postdoc (Sweedler/Zhao), Univ. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Matthew Siebers, Plant Biology Postdoc (Bernacchi), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Shayan Tabe Bordbar, Computer Science Ph.D. Candidate (Sinha), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Konrad Taube, iSEE Academic Hourly (DeLucia), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Mauricio Tejera, Agronomy Ph.D. Candidate (Heaton), Iowa State University
Vinh Tran, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate (Zhao), University of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign
Tony Trieu, Research Technician (Swaminathan), HudsonAlpha Institute of Biotechnology
Robert Twohey, Crop Sciences M.S. Candidate (Studer), University of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign
Rachel Emily Van Allen, Plant Biology Field Research Specialist (Yang), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Lam Vo, Chemistry Ph.D. Candidate (Zhao), University of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign
Adam Von Haden, Plant Biology Postdoc (DeLucia/Yang), U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Hanna Walukiewicz, Chem. & Biomolecular Eng. Sr. Research Scientist (Rao), U. of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Duoduo Wang, Agronomy Postdoc (Altpeter), University of Florida
WeiWei Wang, Ag. & Consumer Economics Researcher (Khanna), U. of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign
Xiao Wang, Agricultural and Applied Economics Ph.D. Candidate (Khanna), U. of Ill. at U.-C.
Xiaoyi Wang, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate (Rao), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Matthew Waugh, iSEE Chemistry Postdoc (Lu), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Tianxia Xiao, Chemistry M.S. Candidate (Rabinowitz), Princeton University
Xi Xing, Chemistry Research Scientist (Rabinowitz), Princeton University
Ke Xu, Computer Science M.S. Candidate (Guan/Peng), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Mason Xue, Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Candidate (Zhao), University of Ill. at Urbana-C.
Xueyi Xue, iSEE Postdoc (Chen), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Qiang Yan, Chemical and Biological Eng. Postdoc (Pfleger), University of Wisconsin at Madison
Pan Yang, Civil Engineering Postdoc (Cai), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ya Chi Yu, Plant Biology Visiting Research Specialist (Chen), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Xinyi Zhang, Civil and Envtl. Eng. M.S. Candidate (Guest), University of Illinois at Urbana-C.
Qiankun Zhao, Civil Engineering M.S. Candidate (Cai), U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Jia Zhong, Ag. & Applied Economics Ph.D. Candidate (Khanna), U. of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign
Joe Zimmerman, iSEE Lab Technician (Sacks), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Support Staff at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Deputy Director of Operations Jenny Kokini, Managing Director, Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) Email >>>
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Research Coordinator Anya Knecht, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) Email >>>
Research Coordinator Michael Ponte, IGB Email >>>
Research Coordinator Anna Fedders, IGB Email >>>
Laboratory Manager Lucienne Burrus, IGB Email >>>
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Theme Secretary Donelle Ash, Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) Email >>>