Eric Holmes (guest speaker from University of Idaho)

Study, evolution, and engineering of plant-microbe interactions to address emerging agricultural challenges.

Abiotic and biotic stressors pose a significant threat to agriculture and global food security. As a rising demand for food and negative impacts from these stressors co-occur, transformational changes to our agricultural systems will be necessary to efficiently feed the planet. New technologies that leverage the plant microbiome to improve depleted soils, reduce crop loss, and augment energy-intensive fertilizers promise to contribute toward this transformation, yet additional mechanistic insight into plant-microbe interactions is necessary to fully exploit this potential. In the Holmes Lab, we seek to define these molecular mechanisms and apply our insights to engineer microbial bioproducts that improve plant health and fitness. In this seminar, I will present two case studies that exemplify this approach. First, I will describe our work discovering and characterizing N-hydroxypipecolic acid, a previously unknown plant hormone that is essential for systemic immune defense. Second, I will discuss my prior industry work where we translated new biochemical insights into the development of a more effective bacterial anticancer vaccine. Together, these examples highlight how mechanistic understanding of cross-kingdom biological systems can be harnessed to design impactful engineered bioproducts.

Eric’s Bio

During his graduate work in Elizabeth Sattely’s lab at Stanford University, Eric developed metabolic and genetic screening approaches to discover and engineer metabolite-based pathogen defense mechanisms in plants. Post-PhD, Eric spent several years in industry, working with microbiome therapeutic startups to develop novel genetic engineering strategies for bacterial-based therapeutics. He then transitioned to a Postdoctoral Researcher position at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, where he worked in Gregg Beckham’s group to develop strategies for producing sustainable food products from waste resources. In 2025, Eric started his lab at the University of Idaho, where he leverages expertise in plant chemistry, metabolomics, microbiology, and synthetic biology to uncover and engineer the mechanisms that underlie critical interactions between plants and microbes. Eric was born and raised in Oregon and spends his spare time enjoying the Pacific Northwest’s many recreational opportunities. In particular, he enjoys backpacking, fly fishing, wildlife photography, running, and vegetable gardening.