Interim head for Texas A&M Department of Horticultural Sciences named

Patricia Klein, Ph.D., will begin her appointment as interim department head for the Texas A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Horticultural Sciences Jan. 1.

Klein currently serves as professor and associate head for graduate programs in the department. She is also leading innovative research using high-throughput genotyping, bioinformatics and phenotyping to produce new germplasm to improve plants and accelerate the development of new varieties. This research has helped advance genomic and genetic tools to improve several plant species, including sorghum, corn, pecans, roses and coffee.  

In addition to her research and teaching responsibilities, Klein is also a member of the interdepartmental Molecular and Environmental Plant Sciences program.

In 2012, she was awarded the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean’s Outstanding Achievement Award for Interdisciplinary Research. Involved in several professional societies, she is the chair of the biotechnology and breeding section of the Sorghum Improvement Conference of North America.

Klein earned her bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Texas A&M, her master’s degree in crop science from Texas Tech University and her doctoral degree in biochemistry from Texas A&M. She conducted post-doctoral work at the University of Kentucky and the U. S. Department of Agriculture’s Eastern Regional Research Center in Philadelphia. She returned to Texas A&M in 1997 and joined the Department of Horticultural Sciences faculty in 2002.