Philippe Nicolas, Ph.D.

Background

Prior to joining Texas Tech faculty, Nicolas served as the head of the Translational Research Lab within the Intellectual Property & Technology Transfer Department at the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI), an independent research institute affiliated with Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. There, Nicolas played a key role in advancing BTI's translational research efforts, which focus on applying fundamental research findings to produce meaningful, practical results that benefit society. His lab contributed to the development of technologies and expertise to enhance plant adaptation to environmental stress, bridging the gap between laboratory research and “real-world” applications. During his tenure, Nicolas actively collaborated and partnered with various agricultural stakeholders, including the Ag Biotech industry, to achieve these goals. Earlier, Nicolas worked as a research associate and postdoctoral research associate at the Boyce Thompson Institute, where he studied fruit functional genomics and biotechnology using tomato and its wild relatives as a model system. Nicolas also worked as a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Potsdam-Germany and the Center for Biological Research in Madrid-Spain, where he investigated the epigenetic regulation of plant responses to abiotic stress.

Nicolas received his bachelor’s degree in life sciences and master’s degree in physiology, cell and molecular biology from the University of Poitiers-France. In addition, he earned a second master's degree in Plant Development and Genetics, and a doctorate in Plant Biology, from the University of Bordeaux-France, specializing in grape functional genomics.

Research Interests

Nicolas’ research and teaching specialization is in the area of plant molecular biology, genomics and biotechnologies, and his research program primarily focuses on deciphering plant signaling pathways and the regulation of gene expression during development and in response to environmental stresses. His research program utilizes omics approaches (including genomics, transcriptomics, and metabolomics) and functional genomics techniques (such as gene editing). His work aims to develop crop cultivars with enhanced resistance to environmental stress by harnessing existing natural genetic diversity.