By D'Lyn Ford
Tim Kelliher, leader of NC State University’s Genome Editing Center for Sustainable Agriculture, finds his motivation — his “why”— in doing research that meets the real-world needs of farmers.
Before taking on the challenge of starting a new research enterprise at NC State, Kelliher spent 12 years developing new breeding technologies to accelerate the development of new crop varieties as the head of Crop Trait and Technology Discovery for the Seeds division of Syngenta Biotechnology, based in Research Triangle Park.
“I’ve joined NC State because I think this technology can really make a difference in the lives of farmers,” says Kelliher, who began work at the university in July 2025. ”I think that gene editing technology can help farmers be more profitable and solve some of their biggest challenges, including how to deal with evolving challenges of diseases, pests and extreme weather.”
Kelliher serves as the Roberts and Mikhail Distinguished Chair in Plant Genome Editing, an endowed position created by a gift from gene therapy pioneer Jude Samulski.
Source : ncsu.edu