John Shanklin grew up near Manchester England. He moved to Wisconsin where he received a M.Sc. and Ph.D. working with Rick Vierstra on the biochemistry of selective protein turnover in plants. He moved to Michigan State’s DOE Plant Research Laboratory for a Post Doc. with Chris Somerville where he became fascinated with plant lipid biochemistry and lipid modification enzymes. John established his own research program when he moved to BNL in 1992 as an Assistant Biochemist. John is the recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award, the Terry Galliard Medal for Plant Lipid Biochemistry and is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. John is now a Senior Biochemist and has served many roles at BNL including Group Leader for Plant Science, and is presently Chair of the Biology Department.