Ronald D. Flannagan, Ph.D.
Ron grew up on a farm in northeast Iowa.
His career has included crop protection research, commercial agronomy, and R&D leadership at Pioneer Hi-Bred, Monsanto, Bayer, and GreenLight Biosciences.
He contributed to SmartStax PRO, the first trait to use RNAi against corn rootworm, and Calantha, the first registered foliar RNA biopesticide.
He founded F² Consulting in 2025. He advises agricultural technology companies on research priorities, technology and IP, partnerships, and commercialization.
See the workScientific background
Ron holds a Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology from The Ohio State University and a B.A. in Biotechnology from the University of Northern Iowa.
Research and industry collaboration
A Monsanto Research Fellow, Ron has served as Industry Advisory Board Chairman for CAMTech and contributed to the Iowa Pest Resistance Management Plan.
Named inventor on 25 patent applications and co-author of 11 peer-reviewed publications and two book chapters.
Selected publications