Dr. Jerome Miksche was named Director of the Plant Genome Research Program in 1989. Prior to joining the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Dr. Miksche was Head of the Botany Department at North Carolina State University. In 1985, he was named National Program Leader for Plant Physiology and Biotechnology within the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), which is a National Program Staff (NPS) appointment, the advisory body for ARS. Dr. Miksche has maintained his involvement with NPS while undertaking his role in the Plant Genome Research Program.