Rate My Professor Andrew Thompson

Professor Andrew Thompson serves as Professor of Molecular Plant Science and Head of the Centre for Soil, Agrifood and Biosciences at Cranfield University. His academic journey began with a degree in Microbiology and Genetics from University College London, followed by a PhD in 1990 from Durham University on the molecular biology of seed storage proteins. He then pursued postdoctoral research at the University of Texas at Austin, focusing on catalytic RNAs from the alga Chlamydomonas. Returning to the UK, he contributed molecular biology expertise to a plant water relations program at Horticulture Research International (HRI) in Wellesbourne. Following the transfer of HRI to the University of Warwick, he advanced to Associate Professor in Warwick Life Sciences, where he led the Water Use Research Group until joining Cranfield in 2012.

Professor Thompson's research centers on molecular plant science, specializing in plant water use, root systems, seed science, and phytohormone signaling. He leads the Crop Water Use Group, conducting multidisciplinary studies to improve crop productivity under water stress. Current interests include rootstocks for enhancing vigor and stress resistance in crops like tomato and pepper, and the molecular genetics of root traits for new cultivars. His projects encompass the EU-funded Rootopower, BBSRC and Syngenta-supported RootLINK, and BBSRC-funded genetic resources for drought-resistant tomatoes using wild relatives Solanum sitiens and Solanum chilense. He supervises PhD projects on plant development aspects such as fruit abscission and truss branching, utilizing next-generation sequencing, genotyping, and bioinformatics. Key publications include 'A naturally occurring epigenetic mutation in a gene encoding an SBP-box transcription factor inhibits tomato fruit ripening' (2006), 'Unravelling rootstock×scion interactions to improve food security' (2015), 'DNA-free CRISPR genome editing in raspberry (Rubus idaeus) protoplast through RNP-mediated transfection' (2025), and works on ABA biosynthesis and drought resistance. Professor Thompson serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Experimental Botany.