The College of Science welcomes Dr. Patrick Horn as one of our newest assistant professors in the UNT Biological Sciences department. Dr. Horn grew up in Dallas and is a proud alumnus of UNT, earning his PhD in biochemistry in 2013. In rejoining his alma mater as an educator and researcher, Dr. Horn is especially excited about the new institutes and initiatives that have been established since his time here, including the BioDiscovery Institute, where he looks forward to collaborating with other researchers in an intellectually stimulating environment.

"As I witnessed firsthand as a graduate student, UNT's science programs provide a research infrastructure that enables scientific discoveries and training of the next generation of scientists," he said. "I am most excited to be a part of this by helping students grow their love of learning so that they can understand and explain the complexity of life at the cellular and biochemical level."

Dr. Horn is teaching both undergraduate and graduate biochemistry courses this semester, which integrates many sub-disciplines such as biology, chemistry, genetics, cell biology, analytical chemistry, and computational modeling.

"On the research side, I have a unique combination of technical skills in the molecular sciences that should complement and enhance the work of current UNT researchers," he said. "My research, combined with love of teaching, enables me to help students in the classroom learn about the most recent scientific discoveries and prepare them for their careers."

In his lab in the BioDiscovery Institute, Dr. Horn will be focusing on two areas of plant biochemistry research. The first is identifying and characterizing enzymes in plant metabolism and bioproduct production. Plants produce many types of biochemicals that help them live and survive in dynamic environments, and at a fundamental level, this research aims to understand what the purpose of these biochemicals are and how they are made.

The second area of focus is an investigation of plant redox processes in photosynthetic membranes.

"We are investigating how plants harness and use the power of photosynthesis to drive energy currents in plants," said Dr. Horn. "However, natural environments often provide a range of stressors that cause plants to become less productive, sometimes even leading to death, due to an unbalanced flow of energy currents. Understanding these processes will be important to engineering healthier plants in response to increasingly extreme environments."

Dr. Horn notes that all his research objectives strive to improve diversity within his field.

"I have been blessed with many learning opportunities throughout my career. Our lab strives to pay-it-forward by providing research opportunities for undergraduates, graduates, and postdocs with an emphasis on serving underrepresented groups in STEM," he said. "We will offer a range of research training opportunities using classical and cutting-edge techniques for students who just want to give research a try, to more rigorous, targeted training plans that prepare students for competitive research and/or medical-based careers."

Dr. Horn completed his post-doctoral work at Michigan State in the Department of Energy's Plant Research Laboratory, and prior to accepting his current position at UNT, he was an assistant professor at East Carolina University. In 2018, Dr. Horn received the Paul K. Stumpf Award at the 23rd International Symposium on Plant Lipids, and in 2019 the Phytochemical Society of North America presented him with The Arthur C. Neish Young Investigator Award.

When he's not working, Dr. Horn enjoys spending time with his wife, two daughters, and their labrador named Bella. He's a big sports fan and cheers on the Cowboys, Mavericks, Rangers, Stars, and Longhorns. He can also be found running and cycling himself, or watching his kids compete in a variety of sports.

Learn more about Dr. Horn's lab research at https://biology.unt.edu/people/patrick-horn