Background

John leads the research enterprise at UF/IFAS, supporting faculty in Gainesville and at our research and education centers who address challenges facing agriculture, natural resources and human systems.  He also oversees operations at the Plant Science Research and Education Unit and the Ordway-Swisher Biological Station.

John Davis specialized in forest ecosystem health, tree-pathogen coevolution, forest genomics, and is tenured in the School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences. He earned his Ph.D. in plant breeding and genetics-forestry from Michigan State University in 1989 and has been a faculty member in UF/IFAS since 1992. Prior to serving in the Dean for Research Office, he maintained a 60 percent research, 20 percent teaching, and 20 percent administrative appointment since 2011. In March 2016, he transferred to the Dean for Research Office as Associate Dean and in February 2024 he became Interim Dean and Director of Florida Agricultural Experiment Station.