Michelle Mi-Jeong Yoo Receives Tenure and Promotion to Associate Professor at Clarkson University

March 30, 2026

Clarkson University announces that Michelle Mi-Jeong Yoo has been awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor of biology in the Lewis School of Health and Life Sciences.

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Headshot, Michelle Yoo

Yoo is an evolutionary plant biologist whose research integrates genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics to understand how plant genomes evolve and respond to environmental change. Her work focuses on polyploid evolution, gene expression regulation, crop domestication, brassica stress resilience, and phylogenomics of flowering plants. She has also contributed to species delimitation and biodiversity research involving medicinal and conservation-relevant plants that are native to New York state.

Since joining Clarkson in 2019, Yoo has built an active research program that engages undergraduate and graduate students in interdisciplinary projects spanning biodiversity, biotechnology, and environmental resilience. She teaches genetics and molecular biology laboratory courses and is recognized for incorporating cutting-edge omics approaches into student training.

She has published more than 50 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals such as Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, The Plant Journal, Genetics, and Frontiers in Plant Science. Her work has been cited nearly 4,500 times, reflecting its broad impact on plant evolutionary genomics.

Yoo earned her doctoral degree in botany from the University of Florida and completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Seoul National University.
 

Clarkson University is a proven leader in technological education, research, innovation and sustainable economic development. With its main campus in Potsdam, N.Y., and additional graduate program and research facilities in the Capital Region and Hudson Valley, Clarkson faculty have a direct impact on more than 7,800 students annually through nationally recognized undergraduate and graduate STEM designated degrees in engineering, business, science and health professions; executive education, industry-relevant credentials and K-12 STEM programs. Alumni earn salaries among the top 2% in the nation: one in five already leads in the c-suite. To learn more go to www.clarkson.edu.
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