Rate My Professor Robert Burnap

Robert Burnap is a Regents Professor of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at Oklahoma State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, a Master’s degree in biology from the University of California at Los Angeles, and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Santa Barbara, where his thesis focused on the evolution of the oxygenic photosynthetic mechanism. Following his doctorate, he completed postdoctoral training at Purdue University, specializing in the genetic manipulation of cyanobacteria and biophysical analysis of photosynthetic proteins. As a faculty member in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Burnap has advanced research and teaching in fundamental biological processes. He teaches courses including Cell and Molecular Biology, Bioenergetics, and Principles of Bioinformatics, mentoring undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers. Burnap served as a rotating Program Director in the Division of Cellular and Molecular Biochemistry at the National Science Foundation, earning recognitions for leadership in ‘Advancing the New Biology’ and co-developing the US-United Kingdom Photosynthesis Ideas Lab. He holds the Vaughn O. Vennerberg II Chair of Bioinformatics and Molecular Genetics and was appointed Regents Professor in 2019. Additionally, he received the Regents Distinguished Research Award and an Einstein Fellowship in Germany for collaborative research.

Burnap’s research investigates core photosynthetic processes, including the NSF-funded study of water oxidation where light energy splits water to produce oxygen, underpinning solar energy production and atmospheric oxygen levels. His DOE-funded project examines the CO2 concentrating mechanism in cyanobacteria, employing molecular genetics, biochemistry, and biophysics. Key publications include editing the book 'Functional Genomics and Evolution of Photosynthetic Systems' (2012); 'Regulation of CO2 Concentrating Mechanism in Cyanobacteria' (Life, 2015, 251 citations); 'Alterations in global patterns of gene expression in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in response to inorganic carbon limitation' (Journal of Biological Chemistry, 2004, 317 citations); 'A genomics approach towards salt stress tolerance' (Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 2001, 300 citations); and 'The highly abundant chlorophyll-protein complex of iron-deficient Synechococcus sp. PCC7942' (Plant Physiology, 1993, 269 citations). His work has significantly influenced understanding of photosynthesis, bioenergetics, and cyanobacterial physiology, with over 5,000 citations on Google Scholar. Burnap has also contributed as an officer in the International Society for Photosynthesis Research.