Wisser Lab of Biology and Breeding

Laboratory Setting and Research Emphasis

Our group works on questions about adapting crops to new environments through plant breeding. We are elucidating the biological basis of phenotypic variation and response to artificial selection, with most of our research centered around maize. We develop novel experimental frameworks coupled with germplasm and data resources to work across the genome to phenome scale for biology and breeding research.

Our training program provides an interdisciplinary setting to study plant biology and approaches for crop improvement. State-of-the-art facilities enable integrated field, laboratory and computational experimentation. Multi-institutional and International collaborations facilitate network development for trainees.

The Wisser laboratory was established and located in the Department of Plant & Soil Sciences at the University of Delaware (UD) from 2009-2020. In late 2020, Dr. Wisser moved to direct a new program in the Ecophysiology Laboratory of Plants under Environmental Stress (LEPSE) at INRAE (Montpellier, France). At the LEPSE, we are members of an interdisciplinary research unit working to adapt crops to climate change. Our approach integrates quantitative genetics and ecophysiology to chart new pathways in breeding for adaptation to climatic stress. Dr. Wisser currently holds an affiliate faculty appointment at UD where some of the groups research activities continue.