Dr. Charles Muscoplat
University of Minnesota

Biography:

Charles Muscoplat is dean of the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, vice president for agricultural policy and director of the Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Minnesota. Muscoplat assumed his duties on September 21, 1999.

As vice president and the college's chief academic and administrative officer, Muscoplat is responsible for the college's teaching, research and outreach programs and for managing issues related to Minnesota and its national and international roles in global agricultural systems. Muscoplat also hold a tenured professorship in the department of animal science.

Muscoplat is a widely recognized scientist and leader in biotechnology and its application to human, plant and animal improvement. He has extensive expertise in academia, basic and applied research, teaching, business, technology transfer, administration, FDA regulatory affairs, public service in agriculture and public policy development. He helped start one of the nation's first agricultural biotechnology companies, developed the nation's first biotechnology animal health product (Genecol 99) and played a key role in the development of the first U.S. biotechnology plant product—herbicide-tolerant corn.

A native of St. Paul, Minn., Muscoplat received a bachelor's degree in chemistry and a doctorate in veterinary microbiology from the University of Minnesota. He served as a faculty member in veterinary medicine at the university from 1976 to 1983. He has taught courses in immunology, clinical immunology and business, and has published more than 130 peer-reviewed research publications. Muscoplat also serves on the board of directors of the Minnesota Academy of Science.

Muscoplat has also participated in several national and international initiatives, government advisory bodies and policy forums, including the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council's Board on Agriculture, Board on Science and Technology for International Development, the Planning Group for National Strategy for Biotechnology and the U.S.-Indonesia Agricultural Biotechnology Workshop. He has also served as a scientific advisor for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development.