Tim Kelliher
Director, Genome Editing Center for Sustainable Agriculture North Carolina State University
As director of NC State’s Genome Editing Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Kelliher focuses on genome editing in crops to create novel agronomic and disease resistance traits, new CRISPR tools, and novel crop reproductive system. He has a background in haploid induction, genome doubling, plant developmental biology, and confocal microscopy. He also collaborates with both academic and industry partners to drive intellectual property generation in the field of genome editing for crops, microbes and insects.
Early center goals include developing new plant genome editing tools to shorten the timespan between scientific exploration and introduction of plant improvement innovations to farmers and growers.
Before joining NC State’s faculty in July 2025, Kelliher spent 12 years at Syngenta Seeds Research, leading programs related to breeding technologies and genome editing trait development, most recently as head of trait technologies and genome editing traits.
Seminars
- Benchmarking delivery efficiency by clarifying regeneration and fertility criteria to guide go/no-go decisions
- Capturing practical solutions for overcoming genotype dependence in crops such as citrus, cocoa, vines, and brassicas using emerging methods like meristem and pollen electroporation
- Integrating transgene-free technologies and exploring novel delivery approaches to accelerate adoption and market readiness
