Liam and his team use genetics to discover how plants and their cells develop and evolve. The main focus has been the identification of mechanisms that control the development and differentiation of specialized plant cell types. Currently, the Dolan lab is discovering the molecular mechanisms that control the transition from a non-polarized state to a polarized state.  The lab is also investigating how the morphogenetic centers –   meristems with stem cells and niches –  initiate and ultimately build the entire plant body.  These are fundamental processes in the development of complex plants from single cells.

Dolan was educated at University College Dublin and the University of Pennsylvania where he was awarded a PhD in 1991. After working at the John Innes Centre from 1992-2009, Dolan was Sherardian Professor of Botany at the University of Oxford and Professorial Fellow at Magdalen College from 2009 to 2020. Since 2020, Dolan has been Senior Scientist at the GMI. Dolan is a Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization.