Dr. Michael Gore Receives 2022 Cotton Genetics Research Award

Dr. Michael Gore (Photo: Cornell University)

Dr. Michael Gore, noted scientist and Professor in Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Science (SIPS), is the recipient of the 2022 Cotton Genetics Research Award.

The announcement was made during the Cotton Improvement session of the 2023 Beltwide Cotton Conferences in New Orleans. Gore, who was selected by the Joint Cotton Breeding Committee, received a plaque and a monetary award.

Advertisement

Gore earned his bachelor’s degree in Plant Breeding from Cornell and his M.S. and his Ph.D. degrees in Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences from Virginia Tech. He was a researcher for Rohm and Haas, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, and Lancaster Labs before joining USDA’s Agricultural Research Service as a research geneticist in Arizona in 2009. He joined Cornell in SIPS’ Plant Breeding and Genetics Section in 2013 as an associate professor, later becoming a professor and then chair of that section.

SIPS Director Dr. Jocelyn Rose, one of Gore’s nominators, said his ground-breaking cotton genetics research has had a lasting impact on the cotton breeding and genetics community and beyond. She said that he has an innate passion for genetically improving crops through the large-scale identification of causal genes and the development of predictive models that are now being collaboratively used by breeders to accelerate the breeding process.

Specific to cotton, Rose said Gore’s research supported efforts to transfer the superior fiber traits of Pima cotton to higher yielding upland cotton. She noted that among other achievements, he has helped reveal the levels and patterns of genetic diversity for several cotton species and “his work has helped breeders on how to best find and utilize allelic diversity to increase the resiliency of cotton to changing weather patterns and rapidly evolving pests and pathogens.”

Top Articles
Cotton Companion: Adjusting to New EPA Adjustments

Another nominator, Dr. Jonathan Wendel, a professor in Iowa State’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology, described Gore as “a remarkably productive, versatile, and accomplished scientist” who has been awarded more than $9.3 million in grant funding and his research accomplishments reported in 143 peer-reviewed articles. He said Gore, in fact, has averaged an astonishing 10 peer-reviewed publications per year in predominantly high impact journals since completing his Ph.D. in 2009.

Gore is a member of multiple scientific and professional societies and currently serves as editor of The Plant Phenome Journal. He has also received numerous awards throughout his career, most recently being named a Fellow by the Crop Science Society of America.

The annual Cotton Genetics Research Award was established in 1961 by U.S. commercial cotton breeders to recognize and encourage basic research in cotton genetics, cytogenetics, and breeding. It is administered by the Joint Cotton Breeding Committee consisting of representatives of the National Cotton Council, USDA, state experiment stations, Cotton Incorporated and commercial breeders.

Based on information from the National Cotton Council

 

0