Jeffrey Palmer ’77—Pioneering Biologist

World-renowned expert on plant molecular evolution and phylogeny Jeffrey Palmer ’77 won the McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies for his contributions to the understanding of genome structure, function, and evolution in plants. An Indiana University faculty member since 1989, Palmer has conducted groundbreaking research on horizontal gene transfer and the movement of genes from the mitochondrial genome to the nuclear genome. Palmer’s discoveries have impacted biologists’ understanding of the origins of flowering plants, of land plants from green algae, and of chloroplasts from cyanobacteria.