A man with blonde half long hair, wearing outdoor clothing and a backpack in the forest.
Levi Yant. Photo: Lisa Gilligan Lee, University of Nottingham

Levi Yant, professor of plant genetics

Page reviewed:  23/02/2026

Levi Yant is a professor of plant genetics since 1 July 2025. His inauguration lecture has the title "The double-edged sword of whole-genome duplication".

Levi Yant’s research focuses on a dramatic event in plant evolution, whole genome duplication, when a plant suddenly inherits two extra copies of the entire genome. While most of these organisms fail, sometimes spectacular, evolutionary winners emerge. Many crops have this background, but there are also close crop relatives that have adapted to extreme or unusual environments: salty coastlines, metal rich soils, and arctic climates. Levi Yant tries to uncover general rules about how such genomes evolve, stabilize, and innovate. He also explores the possibilities for plant breeders to use this enormous reservoir of genetic solutions.


A person standing by a mossy cliff collecting samples in tubes.
Levi Yant collecting plant samples in the field. Photo: Lisa Gilligan, University of Nottingham


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Biography

Levi Yant was born in 1971 near Chicago, Illinois, USA. His academic background spans the life sciences and humanities, beginning with degrees in Classics and Comparative Literature, followed by an MSc in Viral Evolution at the University of Wisconsin in 2006. He completed his PhD in Developmental Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen in 2010. He subsequently held postdoctoral and group leader positions at Harvard University.

Since 2015 he has led an independent research group, first as a project leader at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, and from 2021 as a professor at the University of Nottingham.