Douglas R. Cook is a Professor at the University of California-Davis. He received his doctoral degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted postdoctoral research at the Carnegie Institution of Washington’s Department of Embryology at The Johns Hopkins University. He was among a small group of colleagues who together pioneered the use of Medicago truncatula as a model genetic and genomic system for investigation of legume biology. For the past two decades has been a leading advocate for the application of basic legume science towards pressing agricultural needs in the developing world. He recently led an international consortium focused on the of crop wild relatives of cultivated chickpea. His current research spans model and crop legume systems, especially chickpea, with a dual focus on (1) microbial diversity and function in natural and agricultural systems, and (2) mining agricultural traits from the wild progenitors of crops. Recently, Doug co-founded NuCicer, which is a biotechnology company focused on developing super-high protein content lines of chickpea, with enhanced functional and nutritional properties.