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Give      University of Florida

Dr. Kevin M. Folta

Professor

Mailing Address:
Fifield Hall
2550 Hull Road
PO Box 110690
Gainesville, Florida 32611

Office: 2239 Fifield Hall
Phone: (352) 273-4350
E-mail: kfolta@ufl.edu

  • Areas of Research
    • Functional genomics of small fruit crops
    • Photomorphogenesis and controlled environments
    • Genetic basis of flavors
    • Science communication and outreach
    • Small Molecule Discovery - Antibiotics and Plant Growth Regulators
  • Teaching Responsibilities
    • FRC1010- Fruit for Fun and Profit
    • PCB6528- Plant Cell and Developmental Biology
  • Educational Background
    • Ph.D. – 1998; Molecular Biology, University of Illinois at Chicago
    • M.S.  – 1992; Biology, Northern Illinois University
    • B.S. – 1989; Biology, Northern Illinois University
  • Work Experience
    • December 2012- Present: Department Chair, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
    • May 2012- May 2017: Visiting Scientist, Shanghai Academy for Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai China
    • July 2011 – December 2012:  Graduate Coordinator, Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
    • July 2008- present: Associate Professor, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
    • November 2002-June 2008: Assistant Professor, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
    • March 2000- November 2002:  Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
  • Honors and Awards
    • University of Florida Postdoctoral Mentoring Award
    • University of Florida Foundation Research Professor, 2010
    • Northern Illinois University LA&S Golden Alumni Award (top 50 distinguished graduates) 2009
    • NSF CAREER Award, 2008
    • Howard Hughes Medical Institute Distinguished Mentor of Undergraduate Research, 2007
  • Program Personnel
    • Postdoctoral Research Associates
      • Dr. Sofia Carvalho
      • Dr. Kevin O’Grady
      • Dr. Raquel Fonseca Carvalho
    • Senior Biological Scientist
      • Maureen Clancy
    • Graduate Students
      • Christopher Barbey
      • Fadhli Mad Atari

Selected Publications

AuthorsYearTitle / DescriptionPublication
Carvalho, S.D. Folta, K.M.  2014  Sequential light programs to affect kale sprout appearance and nutrition. Horticultural Research 1: 8.
Carvalho, S.D., Folta, K.M.  2014 Environmentally-modified organisms: Expanding plant genetic potential with light. Critical Reviews in Plant Science. 33:486-508.
Chambers, A.H., Plotto, A., Bai, J., Whitaker, V.M.,Folta, K.M. 2014 Identification of a strawberry flavor gene using an integrated genetic-genomic-analytical chemistry approach. BMC Genomics 15: 217.
Zhang, Q., Folta, K.M., Davis, T.M.  2014 Somatic embryogenesis, tetraploidy, and variant leaf morphology in transgenic diploid strawberry (Fragaria vesca subspecies vesca ‘Hawaii 4’). BMC Plant Science 14: 14-232.
Chambers, A.H., Evans, S.A., Folta, K.M. 2014 Methyl anthranilate and γ-decalactone inhibit strawberry pathogen growth and achene germination. Journal of Agricultural and Food Science 61: 12625-12633.
Wang, Y., Folta, K.M. 2013 Contributions of green light to plant growth and development. Am. J. Bot. 100: 70-78.
Chambers, A., Carle, S., Njuguna, W., Chamala, S., Bassil, N., Whitaker, V., Barbazuk, W.B., Folta, K.M.  2013 A genome-enabled, high-throughput, and multiplexed fingerprinting platform for strawberry (Fragaria L.). Molecular Breeding : 1-15.
Wang, Y., Maruhnich, S.A., Mageroy, M.H., Justice, J.R., Folta, K.M. 2013 Phototropin 1 and cryptochrome action in response to green light in combination with other wavelengths. 237:225-237.
Folta, K.M.  2012 Functionalizing the Strawberry Genome. Int'l J. Fruit Science 13: 162-174.
Chambers, A., Whitaker, V.M., Gibbs, B., Plotto, A., Folta, K.M. 2012 Detection of the linalool-producing NES1 variant across diverse strawberry (Fragaria spp.) accessions. Plant Breeding 131, 437-443.