James A. Birchler

Curators' Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences

Birchler has made experimental and theoretical contributions to genetic studies of both the maize and fruit fly (Drosophila) systems. He is recognized for developing the first engineered synthetic plant chromosomes, a technology that promises to have many applications in both basic and applied science. A world-class scientist and legendary geneticist, his work has been cited 14,339 times by other researchers. He has written over 250 scientific articles, invited reviews and book chapters, including three in Science magazine and 10 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. His studies have provided insight into gene silencing, centromere epigenetics, heterosis, dosage compensation, aneuploidy syndromes and the evolutionary fate of gene duplications. A beloved student mentor, MIZZOU magazine named him a “Mizzou Teaching Legend” in 2003. In 2017, he was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Professor of the Year. He has graduated 16 PhD students and three master’s students, and is currently training three PhD students. He has supervised 37 post-doctoral fellows and 46 undergraduate research students in his lab. Birchler taught at Harvard University before joining Mizzou’s faculty in 1991. Through many honors and awards, he has been recognized for his tangible impact on the quality of life, economic development and welfare of society.