Rate My Professor Chaofu Lu

Chaofu Lu is a Professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology at Montana State University. He earned his PhD in plant molecular genetics from the Institute of Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1998. He conducted postdoctoral studies at the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom and Washington State University, specializing in plant lipid metabolism, particularly seed storage oils. Lu joined Montana State University as an associate professor in 2005 and advanced to full professor. His research focuses on the biosynthesis and regulation of plant lipids, including seed triacylglycerol and fatty acid composition. He leads efforts in developing Camelina sativa as a sustainable source of bioenergy and renewable chemicals. The Lu lab has established plant transformation protocols and developed genetic and genomic resources for camelina to enable metabolic engineering, elucidating mechanisms of seed development, oil accumulation, fatty acid metabolism, and responses to abiotic stresses such as heat, drought, and nutrient limitations. His work supports cultivar development and genetic improvement of camelina for Montana agriculture, with projects highlighted by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Lu's scholarly impact is reflected in over 4,900 citations on Google Scholar. Key publications include "An enzyme regulating triacylglycerol composition is encoded by the ROD1 gene of Arabidopsis" (PNAS, 2009), "Generation of transgenic plants of a potential oilseed crop Camelina sativa by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation" (2008), "New frontiers in oilseed biotechnology: Meeting the global demand for vegetable oils for food, feed, biofuel, and industrial applications" (2010), "Acyl Editing and Headgroup Exchange Are the Major Mechanisms That Direct Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid Flux into Triacylglycerols" (2012), and "Creating yellow seed Camelina sativa with enhanced oil content" (2024). He teaches Plant Physiology (BIOO433) and advises graduate students. Lu was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2024 for contributions to plant sciences. In 2025, he received a Fulbright Scholar Award for research in France in spring 2026.