Mary-Dell Chilton, Ph.D.

Expert Bio

Mary-Dell Chilton, Ph.D., is a distinguished science fellow and founder of Syngenta’s biotechnology research labs. While on faculty at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, Dr. Chilton led a collaborative research study that produced the first transgenic (genetically engineered) plants. She has been called the “Queen of Agrobacterium” because she was the first to demonstrate the presence of a fragment of Agrobacterium Ti plasmid DNA in the nuclear DNA of crown gall tissue.

In 2015, Dr. Chilton was inducted into both the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the USDA Hall of Heroes. In 2013, Dr. Chilton was named a World Food Prize Laureate. Dr. Chilton is also the author of more than 100 scientific publications.

Dr. Chilton’s efforts pioneered the field of agricultural biotechnology and forever changed the way plant genetic research was conducted. She is recognized for her ground-breaking research and its continued impact on agriculture.