Shawn Mehlenbacher earned his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding at Cornell University in 1982 after graduating from Pennsylvania State University in 1978 with a B.S. in Horticulture. Mehlenbacher has held tree crop breeding responsibilities at Oregon State University Department of Horticulture since 1986, beginning as an Assistant Professor and since 2000 serving as an Oregon Hazelnut Industry Professor.
Shawn Mehlenbacher’s research consists of plant breeding and genetics. His efforts are to identify sources of resistance to eastern filbert blight (EFB) and DNA markers linked to these new sources of resistance. This in turn enables him to develop new cultivars for Oregon's hazelnut industry with a focus on a resistance to EFB, high productivity and suitability for the kernel market.