He is an expert in Plant breeding, screening for resistance to heat, drought, insects, diseases, and root-knot nematodes, genetic resources in cowpea, African cropping systems, cowpea production systems.

The focus of his research is on the genetic improvement of cowpea. He conducts applied breeding program to develop pest resistant cowpea cultivars for the US that have high yield and excellent grain quality as well as resistant to root-knot nematodes, Fusarium wilt, cowpea aphid and lygus bug.  He conducts genetic studies that support the knowledge base of the crop and breeding program.  He is part of a consortium of US and African scientists working to improve cowpea production in Africa as part of the USAID-funded Bean/Cowpea Collaborative Research Program (CRSP).