He created a physical map of the soybean's genetic makeup that scientists can use to locate specific genes and identify their purpose, thus speeding up crop improvements. He himself has developed a means to select soybean cultivars with genetic resistance to two major diseases. His current grants, nationally funded, amount to more than $700,000, and he has received three patents. Meksem has written two books, including a textbook that has been translated into Japanese and Chinese, as well as two book chapters and has published 38 refereed articles in some of his field's top journals. Meksem earned his master's in 1990 from the University of Paris XI and his doctorate in 1995 from the University of Cologne and the Max-Planck Institute for Plant Genetics and Breeding.