Luis Rafael Herrera-Estrella, Ph.D.
Email: Luis.Herrera-Estrella@ttu.edu
Phone: (806) 834-7247
Office:
Experimental Sciences Building II
Room 210A
1006 Canton Ave.
Lubbock, TX 79409-2122
Mail Address:
Experimental Sciences Building II
MS 43135
Lubbock, TX 79409-3135
Background
Dr. Luis Rafael Herrera-Estrella is one of the foremost plant molecular biologists in the world and is Texas Tech University's first National Academy of Sciences (NAS) member. Dr. Herrera-Estrella is a pioneer in the development of plant genetic engineering and together with his colleagues recently published the avocado genome, providing valuable information about the evolutionary branching of some of the earliest flowering plants. His arrival at Texas Tech was made possible by a $5 million grant from the State of Texas Governor's University Research Initiative (GURI) and matched by the university to bring the best and brightest researchers to Texas.
Herrera-Estrella is the President's Distinguished Professor of Plant Genomics and serves as the director of the Institute of Genomics for Crop Abiotic Stress Tolerance, which examines plant adaptation to environmental stresses. He is an author of more than 200 papers.
Research Interests
My research interests include determining the regulatory networks that control abiotic stress tolerance mechanisms in plants, particularly drought, desiccation and nutrient deficiency. My research group is also interested in developing novel tissue culture-independent plant transformation methods, as well as designing strategies to integrate epigenetic changes in plant breeding.
Related Links
Department of Plant and Soil Science
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Address
Texas Tech University, Department of Plant and Soil Science, Box 42122, Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
806.742.2838 -
Email
psstechsupport@ttu.edu