Timothy Kelliher

Timothy Kelliher is the Roberts and Mikhail Distinguished Chair in Plant Genome Editing and Professor at North Carolina State University, holding joint appointments in the Departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology and Horticultural Science. He serves as Director of the NC State Genome Editing Center for Sustainable Agriculture, focusing on developing genome editing tools for crop improvement, disease resistance traits, and novel CRISPR applications. His expertise spans plant reproductive biology, haploid induction, genome doubling, and confocal microscopy. He collaborates with academic and industry partners to advance intellectual property in genome editing for crops, microbes, and insects.

Before joining NC State’s faculty in July 2025, Kelliher spent 12 years at Syngenta Seeds Research, leading programs in breeding technologies and genome editing trait development, most recently as Head of Trait Technologies and Genome Editing Traits. He earned a B.A. in Biology from Swarthmore College and a Ph.D. in Biology from Stanford University, studying plant reproduction.

His research emphasizes accelerating the translation of genome editing innovations into practical applications for farmers and growers. Key focus areas include novel reproductive systems in plants and shortening the timeline from scientific discovery to agricultural implementation.