Robert L. "Rob" Last | |
|---|---|
| Awards | University Distinguished Professor and Barnett Rosenberg Chair, Michigan State University University Distinguished Faculty, Michigan State University Postdoctoral Mentoring Award, College of Natural Sciences, Michigan State University Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow of American Society of Plant Biologists NSF Presidential Young Investigator Award |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Ohio Wesleyan University Carnegie-Mellon University Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Cornell University Michigan State University |
| Thesis | Characterization of RNA splicing components of the Baker’s Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (1986) |
| Doctoral advisor | John L. Woolford |
| Website | bmb |
Robert L. Last is a plant biochemical genomicist who studies metabolic processes that protect plants from the environment and produce products important for animal and human nutrition. His research has covered (1) production and breakdown of essential amino acids, (2) the synthesis and protective roles of Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and Vitamin E (tocopherols) as well as identification of mechanisms that protect photosystem II from damage, and (3) synthesis and biological functions of plant protective specialized metabolites (plant secondary metabolites). Four central questions are: (i) how are leaf and seed amino acids levels regulated, (ii.) what mechanisms protect and repair photosystem II from stress-induced damage, (iii.) how do plants produce protective metabolites in their glandular secreting trichomes (iv.) and what are the evolutionary mechanisms that contribute to the tremendous diversity of specialized metabolites that protect plants from insects and pathogens and are used as therapeutic agents.[1][2][3]