[1] Last spent three years as an NSF Plant Biology Postdoctoral Fellow at the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research working with Professor Gerald R. Fink.
Starting in 1989 he worked through the ranks to Scientist at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, and Adjunct Professor of Genetics and Development at Cornell University.
His research integrates genetics, genomics, analytical chemistry, biochemistry and evolutionary biology to identify and characterize the proteins that perform these functions.
Significant accomplishments related to primary metabolism in plants include identification of the first genetically-transmitted amino acid requiring mutants of plants leading to characterization of the tryptophan biosynthetic pathway,[6][7] branched chain amino acid metabolic networks,[8] and molecular genetic dissection of the Vitamins C and E biosynthetic pathways.
[4][9] Notable accomplishments related to plant environmental adaptation include characterization of plant UV-B sensing, protective and repair mechanisms,[10][11][12] PSII protection and repair,[13][14] and detailed analysis of the biosynthetic and evolutionary mechanisms that contribute to metabolic diversity in glandular secreting trichomes of cultivated tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and its relatives in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family.