Iowa Soybean Research Center Announces Leadership Transition

On July 1, 2025, Iowa State University Associate Professor of Agronomy Mark Licht and Professor of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology Steve Whitham will join the Iowa Soybean Research Center (ISRC) as co-directors. After 11 years of leadership, founding ISRC Director and Morrill Professor of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology Greg Tylka will step away from the center at the end of 2025 allowing him more time to focus on his research responsibilities in the area of soybean cyst nematode (SCN).
Licht, an extension cropping systems specialist, and Whitham, an expert in molecular plant pathology, have both been long-time faculty research affiliates of the ISRC. The addition of Licht and Whitham highlights the long-term commitment of Iowa State University in support of soybean research. The co-directors will work together to expand the research and educational activities of the center while maintaining a focus on soybean production research.
“I would like to thank Dr. Tylka for his leadership and dedication to the Iowa Soybean Research Center, and I am excited for the center’s future with the addition of Drs. Licht and Whitham whose complementary areas of expertise will serve as strengths for the center,” said Asheesh “Danny” Singh, associate dean for research and discovery for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
“The Iowa Soybean Association looks forward to continuing our partnership with ISRC and building on the successes of the past decade with Steve and Mark in this newly formed co-directorship. They will bring many strengths to the center and both continue to focus their research on challenges and opportunities that are central to soybeans and Iowa farmers,” said Iowa Soybean Association Chief Officer, Research Center for Farming Innovation Joe McClure, who also serves as the ISRC’s Industry Advisory Council Chair.
“I am grateful for Steve and Mark joining leadership of the center, which is critically important to the college and Iowa State University. These two individuals add great expertise and perspective to the center,” said ISRC Director Greg Tylka.
Licht, a faculty member in the Department of Agronomy since 2016, has spent his career helping crop farmers improve their operations as an agronomist with ISU Extension and Outreach. His expertise is in soybean and corn, as well as cover crops and conservation measures. His extension, research and teaching program has focused on how to holistically manage Iowa cropping systems to achieve productivity, profitability and environmental goals. Licht has a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and agricultural extension education, a master’s in soil science and a doctorate in crop production and physiology, all from Iowa State.
Whitham has been a faculty member in the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology since 2000. His research has focused on developing virus-based tools to analyze gene functions in crop plants with particular interest in soybean and corn, functional genomics of plant-virus interactions and molecular determinants of soybean-soybean rust interactions. He also teaches courses in plant-microbe interactions, molecular plant pathology and virology. Whitham earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural biochemistry from Iowa State and master’s and doctoral degrees in plant pathology from the University of California, Berkeley.