Peggy Lemaux, cooperative extension specialist in plant and microbial biology

Peggy G. Lemaux is a Cooperative Extension Specialist and a member of the faculty in the Department of Plant and Microbial Biology. Her research efforts focus on the use of genetic engineering and genomic technologies to understand, manipulate and improve cereal crops, like wheat, barley, rice and sorghum. Her applied projects include engineering a faster germinating barley with improved starch characteristics intended for the brewing industry, a hypoallergenic wheat variety aimed at consumers with wheat allergies and, most recently, the nutritional enhancement of sorghum for Africa with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenges for Global Health. Lemaux is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Agronomy and the American Society of Plant Biologists. She serves as chair of the University of California statewide biotechnology workgroup.