Ek Han Tan

Expertise

? Agriculture, ? Consumer preference, ? Food science, ? Genetics, ? Land and natural resource use, ? Potatoes

Tan studies genome instability and change to accelerate the development of new potato varieties. His research takes advantage of a plant reproduction phenomenon known as genome elimination that creates haploid offspring that carry half the expected number of chromosomes, derived solely from one parent. Tan also discovered that a chromosome rearrangement called chromothripsis can occur during genome elimination, providing a unique opportunity to study the phenomenon in a whole organism setting. Visit Tan’s biography to learn more.

A bubble chart demonstrating a 50% research 50% teaching appointment split.
Levesque balances time between teaching (50%) courses about Methods in Virology and Viral Ecology, and research (50%) on plant genetics and genomics, genome elimination, potato breeding, and chromothripsis.

Appointment details

Tan’s work is supported by:

  • School of Biology and Ecology at the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture
  • Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station

Experiment Station contributions

  • Current project: Improving potato breeding and tuber health through haploid induction and genomics approaches. Hatch project number ME021922.