Heike Sederoff

Heike Sederoff is the William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and University Faculty Scholar in the Department of Plant Biology at North Carolina State University. Her research focuses on metabolic engineering and plant physiology to enhance agricultural sustainability, particularly through improving crop nutrient efficiency and engineering symbiotic plant-microbe interactions. She leads projects on CO2 fixation optimization in Camelina sativa, re-establishing arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in Brassicaceae, and solar-powered greenhouse systems.

Education: Ph.D. and M.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Göttingen, Germany (1993 and 1990). Courses taught include Applied Bioinformatics (BIT 476/576), Advanced Plant Physiology (PB 751), and Innovation in Agricultural Biotechnology (PB 495/595).

Research emphasizes climate-resilient agriculture, including drought tolerance engineering, photosynthetic efficiency, and microbiome-root interactions. Major grants include a $30M Novo Nordisk Foundation InRoot project and NSF funding for FEW system biotechnology education. Awards include the William Neal Reynolds Professorship and University Faculty Scholar designation.

Labs and collaborations involve the NCSU Phytotron facility upgrades and international partnerships in Peru through bioinformatics training programs. Key students include Nathan Wilson (synthetic CO2 fixation), Sam Acheampong (sweetpotato biotechnology), and Cristina Salinas.