Dr. David M. Francis

My early interest in biology and horticulture was prompted by the curious idea that one organism can recognize another and that this recognition is responsible for resistance to disease. I also had really good botany instructors as an undergraduate.

My research program actively pursues novel and more efficient approaches for plant improvement that utilize genome sequence data, data-mining, and information sciences. Priorities for discovery and application include resistance to bacterial spot and bacterial canker and fruit quality. We define fruit quality by color, color uniformity, nutritional value, and taste.

One of our current projects focuses on genomic selection that uses knowledge of DNA sequence variation to predict performance of progeny - for both early generation selection & hybrid prediction. This is a very cool area of investigation because the idea is that we can look at DNA and accurately predict how a plant will perform before we've measured yield, resistance, or quality. 

I had a gardening business as a young man then worked in an immunology lab prior to grad school. The convergence of the two ideas brought me to academia. I choose to stay in academia because as long as you can secure funding - you can work on what's truly interesting to you.

I'm currently hosting two visiting scientists from Brazil. In the past I've hosted a Fullbright Scholar from Argentina as well as postdoctoral researchers from South Korea & China. I've done collaborative research with collegaues in Brazil, Spain, and Argentina. 

The Indiana Horticulture Congress - it's very well organized and reaches a great deal of Ohio growers.

Excited about our graduate students & seeing all the progress they are making.

My wife runs a vegetable farm, so in spring/summer I like to help her out. I also like to run - both trail races & on the track.