Richard A. Dixon

Class of 2017-18

University of North Texas
National Academy of Sciences
GP Scientific Prize
Groupe Polyphenois

Richard A. Dixon is a world-renowned specialist in the metabolic engineering of plants. As the director of the BioDiscovery Institute, Dixon is leading an interdisciplinary research group working to develop basic understanding of molecular processes that provide bio-based solutions for a sustainable future. Dixon is best known for his research into the biochemistry, molecular biology, and metabolic engineering of natural product pathways in plants and their implications for agriculture and human health.

In the United Kingdom, Dixon received a doctorate in botany from the University of Oxford and received postdoctoral training in plant biochemistry at the University of Cambridge. In 2004, the University of Oxford awarded him the Doctor of Science degree for his research achievements.

Before joining the University of North Texas, Dixon was a Distinguished Professor and holder of the Samuel Roberts Noble Research Chair, as well as senior vice president and founding director of the Plant Biology Division, at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation in Ardmore, Okla. He holds an adjunct professorship at Oklahoma State University and was recently appointed Chief Scientist in the Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Tree Breeding by Molecular Design, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China.

Dixon is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a member of The Academy of Medicine, Engineering, and Science of Texas. He received the GP Scientific Prize from Groupe Polyphenols and received the Phytochemical Pioneer Award from the Phytochemical Society of North America.

He has published more than 450 papers and chapters in international journals, holds twenty-eight patents, and was named by the Institute for Scientific Information as one of the ten most cited authors in the plant and animal sciences from 1991 to 2001. Over his career, Dixon’s work has been cited more than 61,000 times.

As a Faculty Fellow, Dixon will collaborate with faculty and students in the College of Science. He is the first Hagler Faculty Fellow to receive support from the college’s Timothy C. Hall–Heep Foundation Distinguished Faculty Chair in Biology.