Calvin A. Henard

Dr. Calvin A. Henard serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of North Texas (UNT), holding a joint appointment at the BioDiscovery Institute. He joined UNT in 2019 after advancing to full-time staff researcher at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in 2016, where he developed microbial biocatalysts for biofuel production.

His academic foundation includes a B.S. in Molecular Biology from Tarleton State University and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Postdoctoral training comprised an NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein fellowship at the University of Texas Medical Branch (studying Leishmania virulence) followed by NREL research on metabolic engineering of algae, yeast, and bacteria.

Dr. Henard's research centers on methanotrophic bacteria engineering for C1 substrate conversion to fuels and chemicals. His lab pioneers genetic tools (CRISPR systems, promoter variants) and investigates carbon flux, transcriptional regulation, and metabolic pathways in methane-utilizing microbes. Current work bridges fundamental microbial physiology with industrial biocatalysis applications.

Analysis of his publication record reveals dominant themes in methanotroph genetic engineering, carbon conversion efficiency, and biocatalyst optimization. His work consistently integrates molecular microbiology with synthetic biology approaches to address challenges in methane-based biomanufacturing.

Key scientific recognitions include:

• NIH Ruth L. Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellowship
• NSF CAREER Award

He currently leads three major funded projects: an NSF CAREER award (2025-2030) on methanotroph carbon metabolism, an NSF grant (2022-2026) developing biocatalyst tools for biogas conversion, and a DOE-funded initiative (2023-2025) creating CRISPR interference libraries for high-throughput biocatalyst optimization. His lab recruits graduate students through UNT's Biochemistry & Molecular Biology program.

At UNT's BioDiscovery Institute, Dr. Henard directs a research group focused on establishing methane as a sustainable industrial feedstock through advanced genetic engineering of methanotrophic bacteria, with emphasis on scalable bioprocess development.