Dr. Rex Bernardo is professor and endowed chair in corn breeding and genetics in the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics at the University of Minnesota. He currently serves as Director of the Plant Breeding Center at Minnesota. Professor Bernardo and his graduate students and postdocs:
- Discover new ways of breeding corn (maize)
- Breed new kinds of corn
This work involves theoretical studies, computer simulation, molecular marker analysis, and field experiments. The Bernardo group explores how to best use cheap and abundant DNA fingerprints in maize improvement, and investigates diverse maize lines and populations to enhance the current hybrids grown in the U.S. Corn Belt.