Adrienne Kleintop

Dr. Adrienne Kleintop is an Assistant Professor at Delaware Valley University in the Plant Science and Landscape Architecture Department. She teaches courses in Plant Physiology, Plant Pathology, Plant Breeding, Senior Seminar, and Agricultural Biotechnology, and co-organizes course trips to Hawaii. She co-advises the Floral Society and mentors student research projects in plant breeding and orchid-related studies.

• Education: Ph.D. in Plant and Soil Sciences (Plant Breeding), University of Delaware; Postdoctoral Fellowship in Soil and Crop Sciences (Plant Breeding), Colorado State University; B.S. with Honors in Biology, Moravian College.

Dr. Kleintop specializes in applied plant science, focusing on breeding crops for improved nutritional composition. Her research spans corn and dry bean breeding, with student projects evaluating maize landraces, comparing crop nutritional profiles, and exploring orchid propagation techniques. She has collaborated with W. Atlee Burpee & Co. to provide hands-on plant breeding internships for students.

She serves as co-Chair of the DelVal Food System Institute and holds leadership roles in professional societies, including President-Elect of the Northeastern American Society for Horticultural Science (NE-ASHS) in 2019 and President of the Northern-Region ASHS (NR-ASHS) in 2020. She helped organize the 2020 and 2021 Northeastern Plant, Pest, and Soils Conference (NEPPSC).