Robert M. Goodman

About

Dr. Robert M. Goodman is a plant biologist and virologist with a distinguished career in academia and industry. He served as Executive Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Rutgers University from 2005 to 2020, and was named a University Professor by the Rutgers Board of Governors in 2020, holding the title of Executive Dean Emeritus. His research has focused on the diversity and function of microorganisms in natural environments, soil metagenomics, and plant virology. Notably, during his tenure at the University of Illinois, he discovered and characterized the Geminiviruses, the first-known circular, single-stranded DNA viruses in plants. He has also contributed to the development of genetic engineering techniques in crop species, including pesticide resistance and anti-sense RNA applications, during his time at Calgene, Inc. Goodman has held faculty positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Illinois, and has been involved in numerous leadership roles, including serving on the Board of Trustees of CIMMYT and chairing sections of the AAAS. His scholarship includes pioneering work on soil microbial diversity and the development of approaches now widely called metagenomics. He has also led international programs aimed at improving food security through crop research partnerships in less developed countries and has been actively involved in initiatives to develop youth workforce and entrepreneurship in Greece. Goodman is an elected Fellow of…

Research topics

• Biology
• Agronomy
• Biotechnology
• Agricultural science
• Genetics
• Engineering
• Agricultural engineering
• Ecology
• Agroforestry

Selected publications

• Gram negative shuttle BAC vector for heterologous expression of metagenomic libraries

  Gene · 2010-11-27 · 56 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Polyketide synthase pathways identified from a metagenomic library are derived from soil Acidobacteria

  FEMS Microbiology Ecology · 2011-05-03 · 51 citations

  article

  Polyketides are structurally diverse secondary metabolites, many of which have antibiotic or anticancer activity. Type I modular polyketide synthase (PKS) genes are typically large and encode repeating enzymatic domains that elongate and modify the nascent polyketide chain. A fosmid metagenomic library constructed from an agricultural soil was arrayed and the macroarray was screened for the presence of conserved ketosynthase [β-ketoacyl synthase (KS)] domains, enzymatic domains present in PKSs.…

  PublisherDOI

• The Plan Quality Index: An Empowerment Evaluation Tool for Measuring and Improving the Quality of Plans

  2012-05-15 · 24 citations

  book-chapter
  PublisherDOI

• Ocean microbial metagenomics

  Deep Sea Research Part II Topical Studies in Oceanography · 2009-05-29 · 22 citations

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Isolation and Cloning of High-Molecular-Weight Metagenomic DNA from Soil Microorganisms

  Cold Spring Harbor Protocols · 2009-08-01 · 15 citations

  article

  INTRODUCTION The successful construction of large-insert community DNA (i.e., metagenomic) libraries from natural environments is dependent on several parameters, including effective cell lysis, DNA purity, and a high transformation efficiency. One problem associated with constructing metagenomic libraries from soil microbes is the co-isolation of contaminants, leading to the degradation of DNA as a result of nuclease activity. Because the isolation of intact genetic pathways from soil microbes…

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• April Reese

  Independent Sector

  36 shared

• Barbara A. Larsen

  36 shared

• F C Wheeler

  36 shared

• Adeline M. Yerkes

  National Association of Chronic Disease Directors

  36 shared

• Peggy Adams

  Bowling Green State University

  36 shared

• Nidu Menon

  Michigan Department of Health and Human Services

  36 shared

• C Brownson

  Walker (United States)

  36 shared

• Apophia Namageyo-Funa

  36 shared

Awards & honors

• Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) (2011)
• Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sc…
• Vilas Trust Associate, University of Wisconsin-Madison (2000…

Similar researchers at Rutgers University

• Chi Chenh-80
• Peter J. Morinh-59
• Rachael Winfreeh-50