Megan Matthews

Megan Matthews is an Assistant Professor in the School of Integrative Biology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where she conducts research at the intersection of plant biology and computational modeling to address agricultural challenges under climate change.

Her research focuses on enhancing photosynthetic efficiency, engineering plant-microbe symbioses, and optimizing crop growth through multiscale modeling approaches. Key interests include thermal tolerance in photosynthesis, metabolic modeling of nitrogen fixation, lignin biosynthesis for bioenergy, and predictive decision support systems for sustainable agriculture. She employs genome-scale modeling, CRISPR editing, and multi-omics integration to develop climate-resilient crops.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on systems-level perspectives for improving crop yields, with significant contributions to photosynthetic engineering, symbiotic relationships in legumes, and biomass optimization on marginal lands. Her work consistently bridges computational biology and practical agricultural applications to enhance food security and sustainability.