Rob Martienssen

Robert Martienssen is the William J. Matheson Professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator. His pioneering research focuses on epigenetic mechanisms involving small RNAs and heterochromatin formation in plants and fission yeast, with applications in plant breeding and bioenergy.

Research interests include:

• Epigenetic control of transposable elements
• Chromatin remodeling and DNA methylation
• Centromere function and chromosome biology
• Maize domestication genomics
• Biofuel crop engineering

Recent work explores duckweed genomics for bioenergy applications, epigenetic inheritance mechanisms, and the role of aneuploidy in cancer. His group identified the Karma transposon that controls oil palm yield, significantly impacting sustainable agriculture.

Major honors:

• Genetics Society Medal (2024)
• Darwin Medal (2020)
• Barbara McClintock Prize (2018)
• Martin Gibbs Medal (2019)

He founded Orion Genomics and contributes to numerous advisory boards including the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and Gregor Mendel Institute.