Thomas D. Sharkey

Thomas "Tom" D. Sharkey
AwardsUniversity Distinguished Professor
Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Fellow of American Society of Plant Biologists
Scientific career
InstitutionsMichigan State University
Australian National University
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Thesis Stomatal Responses to Light in Xanthium strumarium and other species
Doctoral advisorKlaus Raschke
Websitebmb.natsci.msu.edu/faculty/thomas-d-sharkey/

Thomas D. Sharkey is a plant biochemist who studies gas exchange between plants and the atmosphere. His research has covered (1) carbon metabolism of photosynthesis from carbon dioxide uptake to carbon export from the Calvin-Benson Cycle, (2) isoprene emission from plants, and (3) abiotic stress tolerance. Four guiding questions are: (1) how leaf photosynthesis affects plant yield, (2) does some carbon fixation follow an oxidative pathway that reduces sugar output but stabilizes photosynthesis, (3) why plants make isoprene, and (4) how plants cope with high temperature.