Fellow of ASPB Award
Established in 2007, the Fellow of ASPB Award may be granted to current members in recognition of direct service to the Society and distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology. Areas of contribution may include education, mentoring, outreach, research and professional and public service. Examples of relevant Society service include, but are not restricted to, service on or on behalf of ASPB committees, service on editorial boards of ASPB journals, and active involvement in ASPB meetings. Current members of ASPB who have contributed to and been members of the Society for at least 10 years cumulative prior to their nomination are eligible for nomination. Recipients of the Fellow of ASPB honor, which may be granted to no more than 0.2% of the current membership each year, receive a certificate of distinction and a lapel pin.
2025 Winner: Ivan Baxter
Ivan Baxter is a Principal Investigator and Member of the Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center in Saint Louis. He also holds adjunct appointments at Washington University and the University of Missouri. Throughout his career, Ivan has played foundational roles in the development of ionomics and high throughput phenotyping in the plant sciences. As founding editor of ASPB’s open access, sound science journal, Plant Direct, Ivan invested much effort into promoting the principles of open, accessible and reproducible science. Ivan also co-launched the award-winning ASPB Plantae Taproot podcast as a way to share cutting edge plant research with the general public. In all of these endeavors and as a teacher and mentor, Ivan helps expand understanding and participation in the plant sciences.
2025 Winner: Jeff Bennetzen
Since 2003 Jeff Bennetzen has served as a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, and Giles Chair in Molecular Biology and Functional Genomics in the Genetics Department at the University of Georgia. Before moving to Georgia, Jeff was H. Edwin Umbarger Distinguished Professor of Genetics at Purdue University. Throughout his career, Jeff has been a trailblazer in research on the structure, function and evolution of plant genomes. Jeff’s cloning and characterization of an active Mutator element in maize was an early catalyst for molecular investigations of transposable elements. Wet lab and computational approaches developed in Jeff’s lab have elucidated the dominant impact of transposon dynamics on genome size evolution. Jeff has long promoted the utility of comparative genomics for crop improvement. In recent years Jeff’s lab developed innovative approaches to investigate below-ground plant-microbe interactions. Jeff has served APSB and the plant science community in a variety of leadership roles including as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.
2025 Winner: Christoph Benning
Christoph Benning is University Distinguished Professor, MSU Foundation Professor, and Director of the MSU-DOE-Plant Research Laboratory. His ground-breaking research on lipid metabolism in plants and photosynthetic bacteria had led to discoveries of several new pathways and regulatory molecules that are critical for crop improvement. Christoph developed a highly successful biochemistry laboratory course in which students conduct original research. In addition to his highly productive research and teaching activities, Christoph is a devoted mentor of students at all levels. He served as Editor- in-Chief of the Plant Journal and has served the Society as a participant in the ASPB/HHMI-sponsored Plant Science Summit II, as Chair of ASPB Ethics Review Committee, is a founding member of the Legacy Society founding member, and as an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.
2025 Winner: Aruna Kilaru
Aruna Kilaru is a Distinguished Professor at East Tennessee State University and Faculty Fellow for Interdisciplinary Innovation in the Biosciences. Aruna is recognized for her contributions to plant lipid metabolism, synthetic biology, science policy, and her professional service to ASPB. Her work on the role of N-acylethanolamines in plant development and stress responses has contributed significantly to our understanding of lipid-mediated signaling in plants. She has also advanced our understanding of oil biosynthesis, revealing regulatory mechanisms that broaden the scope for metabolic engineering beyond seed tissues. Aruna has over 50 peer-reviewed publications, and she was recently recognized as one of the 25 Inspiring Women in Plant Biology by ASPB. She served in public policy as a Program Director at the NSF and as a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. Aruna’s leadership and service roles with ASPB include as current chair of the Membership Committee and Council-elected member of the ASPB Board of Directors, as well as previous service on the Women in Plant Biology Committee and the Southern Section of ASPB. Aruna also serves on the editorial board of Plant Physiology.
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2025 Winner: Gustavo MacIntosh
Gustavo MacIntosh, professor at Iowa State University, is recognized for his work in plant biochemistry and molecular biology. He is a leader in the field of RNA turnover, particularly in the RNA salvage pathway found in the vacuole. This pathway, which is critical to cellular function and homeostasis, is conserved in eukaryotic cells. His research is therefore relevant not only to plant systems but also to human health. In addition, Gustavo has also contributed to the field of plant-insect interactions. Particularly to the study of the molecular mechanisms used by aphids to induce susceptibility on soybeans and how the plants defend themselves against insect colonization. His contributions to ASPB are extensive, including as a member and chair of the Minority Affairs Committee (now Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee, participating as a member of the steering committee of the ROOT&SHOOT program, and serving as ASPB president.
MariaElena Zavala, Chair (2023-2025)
Grace Ju Miller (2023-2026)
Jim Leebens-Mack (2023-2026)
Jon Monroe (2023-2026)
Sylvia Lee, Staff Liaison