Robert B. Goldberg

Robert Bruce Goldberg (May 28, 1944 – November 21, 2025) (also known as Bob Goldberg) was an American plant molecular biologist whose research focused on gene regulation, seed development, and cell-type–specific gene expression in plants.

He was a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played a central role in developing plant molecular genetics. Goldberg is also notable as the founding Editor-in-Chief of The Plant Cell, a leading international journal in plant biology, which he helped launch in 1989 as part of the American Society of Plant Biologists' effort to create a premier venue for mechanistic and conceptual advances in the field.

Goldberg's research combined molecular genetics, genomics, and cell biology to address fundamental questions in plant development, particularly the regulation of gene expression during embryogenesis and seed formation.

A major contribution of Goldberg's laboratory was the identification of tissue-specific regulatory elements controlling gene expression in plants. This discovery provided a molecular approach for engineering male sterility and was later incorporated into hybrid seed production systems in crop plants.

Goldberg was appointed the journal's founding Editor-in-Chief and guided its development from its inception in 1989. In editorials published during the journal's early years, he articulated a vision for The Plant Cell as a forum for research, emphasizing studies that advanced fundamental understanding of plant biology rather than narrowly descriptive or incremental findings. Election to the National Academy of Sciences (2001) Fellow of the American Society of Plant Biologists (2007) Stephen Hales Prize, American Society of Plant Biologists (2015) National Order of Scientific Merit (Brazil) (1998) Distinguished Service Award, American Society of Plant Physiologists (1993) Gordon Conference chair, Plant Molecular Biology (1984)