Paul South was an assistant professor of plant physiology at Louisiana State University. His expertise covers molecular genetics, molecular biology and biochemistry. More specifically, he focuses on epigenetic regulation of gene expression. For the RIPE project, he worked to improve photorespiratory bypass by identifying and down-regulating chloroplast inner membrane proteins necessary for export of photorespiratory products, such as glycolate. Paul earned his bachelor's degree in biology from Ursuline College and went on to receive his doctorate in biochemistry from Purdue University. His work has been published in several peer-reviewed journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and Science. Learn more about Paul's breakthrough work that boosted crop growth by 40 percent from BBC News, or watch the video below.