Scientific Advisory Panel

FuturaGene has formed a distinguished panel of scientific advisors who are internationally recognized for their expertise and invaluable contributions in plant biology, physiology and pathology as well as agronomy and genomics.

Michael E. Fromm, Ph.D.

Michael F. Thomashow, Ph.D.

Professor Oded Shoseyov


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Michael E. Fromm, Ph.D.
Dr. Michael Fromm is the Director of the Plant Genome Center as well as Center for Biotechnology and Professor of Agronomy and Natural Resources at University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska (UNL), USA. Dr. Fromm received his B.Sc. in Chemistry from University of California at Davis, California and his Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Stanford University, USA. Dr. Fromm has been the Director of the Metabolic Signaling Center since 2004. In addition to his many notable accomplishments, Dr. Fromm has also held several executive management positions in the business arena, including Panakos Pharmaceuticals, Mendel Biotechnology Inc. and Monsanto. It was while in Monsanto that Dr. Fromm initiated the company’s plant genomics program and headed the research team that developed the genetically-modified “Roundup Ready” corn and “YieldGard” corn, the Bt corn resistant to corn borers. Dr. Fromm’s research focuses on the long-term goal to understand the stress signaling pathway in sufficient detail to improve the drought and salt tolerance of plants.
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Michael F. Thomashow, Ph.D.
Dr. Thomashow is currently the Director of DOE-Plant Research Laboratory and Distinguished University Professor at the Plant Research Laboratory in Michigan State University, Michigan USA. Dr. Thomashow received his B.Sc. in Bacteriology and Ph.D. in Microbiology from University of California at Los Angeles, California (UCLA) USA. With an illustrious career spanning more than 30 years, Dr. Thomashow was awarded numerous honors including inter alia: Fellowship in Cancer Research for the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Fund, Elected Chair for the Gordon Research Conference, Recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Award as well as Elected Member of Sigma Xi. Previously, he was also a member of Minerva Review Committee, Scientific Evaluation and Site Visit, Otto Warburg Center for Agricultural Biotechnology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel. One of the most prestigious recognitions bestowed upon Dr. Thomashow was in 2003 when he became an Elected Member of the internationally renowned National Academy of Sciences and the following year, he was elected to become President of the American Society of Plant Biologists. Dr. Thomashow’s multi-faceted career includes, amongst others, serving as a consultant for Mendel Biotechnology Inc., Chairperson for the Organizing Committee, 2004 Keystone Symposium on plant responses to abiotic stress and holds the position as Director, Lead Team on Center for Genomic and Evolutionary Studies on Microbial Life at Low Temperature, NASA Astrobiology institute. The areas of his research contributions include plants' ability to acclimate to cold environments as well as their response to low temperatures. This research also leads to a study of how plants respond to and sense water deficit.
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Professor Oded Shoseyov
Prof. Shoseyov is a faculty member of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Prof. Shoseyov's research is in plant molecular biology and biotechnology. He has extensive experience with genetic engineering of plants, protein engineering and nano-biotechnology. He has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific publications and is the inventor or co-inventor of 18 patents. Prof. Shoseyov received the Outstanding Scientist Polak Award for 2002, and the 1999 Kay Award for Innovative and Applied Research. He is the scientific founder of CBD Technolgies Ltd., co-founder of Fulcrum-SP Ltd., a nano-biotechnology company and Collplant Ltd., an agro-biotech company that produces human recombinant collagen in tobacco. He holds a Ph.D. from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel.
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