Assistant Professor, Department of Horticultural Science, and Plants for Human Health Institute, N.C. Research Campus, Kannapolis

Ph.D., Pomology, Cornell University, 2004

B.S., Biology, East Stroudsburg University, 2000

Dr. Jeremy Pattison’s position as a full-time strawberry breeder propels North Carolina to elite status within the strawberry industry.  With Pattison’s appointment at N.C. State University, North Carolina became only the third state, joining California and Florida, to devote the resources to developing a better strawberry.

Pattison is a member of the faculty of the N.C. State University Plants for Human Health Institute (PHHI), located at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis. Pattison is working with Dr. Allan Brown, an applied molecular geneticist, also on the PHHI faculty, to identify and encourage particular characteristics in the strawberry to produce a strawberry plant uniquely suited to the North Carolina climate. The team’s goal is to produce a better tasting, more nutritious berry. “We don’t want a California-style berry,” Pattison says, “We want a North Carolina brand that is clearly different than those that were developed for the mass market.”

Pattison previously worked as an Extension specialist at Virginia Tech’s Southern Piedmont Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Blackstone, Va., conducting field studies on strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and wine grapes. At Southern Piedmont, Pattison’s lab studied the genetic relationship among the strawberry germplasm pool, using molecular markers and looking for valuable horticultural traits, including fruit size, flavor, antioxidant activity, yield, flowering time and disease resistance.

Southern Piedmont is closer to N.C. State’s main campus in Raleigh, N.C., than Virginia Tech’s main campus in Blacksburg, Va., and the nature of this proximity allowed Pattison to collaborate with Dr. Barclay Poling, a professor in N.C. State’s Department of Horticultural Science, whose research focuses on strawberry production. Since Pattison’s appointment at N.C. State, the two have continued to build their professional relationship to the benefit of N.C. strawberry producers.