M.A. Saghai Maroof honored with emeritus status
M.A. Saghai Maroof, professor of plant and environmental sciences in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.
The emeritus title may be conferred on retired faculty members who are specially recommended to the board by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands in recognition of exemplary service to the university. Nominated individuals who are approved by the board receive a copy of the resolution and a certificate of appreciation.
A member of the Virginia Tech community for more than 37 years, Maroof was one of the early investigators to employ molecular markers for large scale genetic screening. Maroof first provided evidence for the Mendelian inheritance of DNA molecular markers, then developed a high throughput fingerprinting methodology for efficient screening. One of the resulting papers has been cited 7,500 times.
He also has explored the genomics of disease resistance genes because reducing crop yield loss from disease is of paramount importance for ensuring future food security. He worked on controlling gray leaf spot, a major disease problem in corn production areas. This work resulted in several papers, the issuance of a patent, and development of gray left spot-resistant corn hybrids.
He also conducted a comprehensive study on soybean virus diseases. This work led to the discovery of three new virus resistance genes, their chromosomal localizations, and the stacking of these resistance genes in a single soybean line. Another significant contribution to disease resistance research was the development of an efficient protocol for the identification of resistance genes from any crop. This research has been cited by others 620 times.
Maroof served as principal investigator or co-principal on grant proposals totaling more than $30 million with more than $8 million allocated to his program from federal agencies, including the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, state agencies, commodity boards, industry, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
He authored or coauthored more than 120 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, which have been cited more than 24,975 times with an h-index of 66 according to Google Scholar.
He was co-inventor, with graduate students, on five patents on the discovery of genes for plant disease resistance and seed composition traits benefiting crop producers.
Maroof received the Basic Research Excellence Award from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a fellow of the Crop Science Society of America.
During his career, Maroof trained and advised 27 graduate students, 44 postdoctoral fellows, and visiting scholars. Many of those graduate students went on to receive departmental, college, university, and national awards and scholarships.
Maroof received his Ph.D. from the University of California-Davis.
