Inventor Profiles

Research area Plant cell wall structure, biosynthesis and utilization. Lignin biosynthesis (including pathway delineation), lignin structure, lignin chemistry, lignin reactions. Delineation of effects of perturbing lignin biosynthesis, and extensions aimed at redesigning lignins to be more readily degraded to improve lignocellulosics bioprocessing, or to create lignins containing more valuable components. Development of methods to produce commodity chemicals from lignin and plant cell wall aromatics. Plant cell wall cross-linking mechanisms – strengthening the wall in ways that make them easier to process. Development of synthetic methods for biosynthetic products, precursors, intermediates, molecular markers, cell wall model compounds, etc. Methods for wall structural analysis (chemical/degradative, NMR, GC-MS, etc.). Solution-state NMR (particularly of cell wall components, especially lignins); methods development; NMR methods applied to unfractionated cell walls.

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What excites you about your work? 

“Lignin is simply a fascinating polymer with mysteries that succumb to some wonderful science, mechanistic investigation (at the chemical and genetic level) and cutting-edge analytics (especially NMR), while at the same time providing a wonderful training ground for young researchers. Lately, we’ve been having fun with fully-¹³C-labeled biomass, which produces amazing spectra and really reveals new information.”

What do you hope to achieve? 

“We’re all about sustainable development. 20 gigatons of lignin are produced by photosynthesis annually, and it is the largest sustainable source of aromatics on the planet, but it remains severely underutilized, so there is enormous potential. We’re trying to facilitate enhanced utilization in new areas and/or provide methods and knowledge that lead to enhanced utilization of the planet’s sustainable resources by others. We also love to develop valuable diagnostic methods for use by researchers and technologists worldwide.”

John’s expertise in lignin, an incredibly complex and variable molecule, and his passion for sustainability have resulted in inventions that allow commercial partners to develop in a wide open area of biorenewables.

– Jennifer Gottwald, WARF, Director of Licensing