Robert L Last

Robert L Last is a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and holds the Barnett Rosenberg Chair in Plant Biology at Michigan State University. His research focuses on plant specialized metabolism, particularly in biosynthetic pathway regulation, with applications to food security and plant resilience.

• Education: Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Carnegie-Mellon University (1986), B.A. in Chemistry from Ohio Wesleyan University (1980)

Research interests include:

• Chloroplast-targeted protein function discovery through phenomics
• Specialized metabolite pathways in secretory glandular trichomes
• Systems biology approaches to plant metabolic networks
• Evolutionary origins of plant-specialized metabolism
• Genomics-driven improvements in plant nutritional and stress response
• Development of analytical chemistry techniques for metabolite profiling

Recent publications highlight:

• Metabolic innovations in plant stress response (2025)
• Evolutionary mechanisms of biochemical pathway diversification (2024)
• Key enzyme discoveries in specialized metabolite production (2024)
• Gene cluster evolution across Solanaceae species (2022)

Scientific awards include:

• 2017 Postdoctoral Mentor Award, MSU College of Natural Science
• 2012 Distinguished Faculty Award, MSU
• 2009 Fellow of American Association for the Advancement of Science
• 2009 Fellow of American Society of Plant Biologists
• 1990 NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award

He leads the Last Lab, which collaborates with institutions like University of Arizona and University of Michigan on plant metabolism research. Current projects include NSF-funded Chloroplast Phenomics and Plant Specialized Evolution initiatives, utilizing advanced genomics and mass spectrometry techniques.