Past and Present Award Winners

NOMINATION PROCEDURE

This monetary award honors the Gude Family, who made possible the establishment of the Gude Plant Science Center. The award, established by the Society and first given in 1983, is made triennially to a scientist or lay person in recognition of outstanding service to the science of plant biology.

Adolph E. Gude, Jr. Award Committee

The 2007 winner is...

Winslow R. Briggs

Carnegie Institution of Washington

Winslow Briggs will receive the 2007 Gude Award for his outstanding service to the plant science community. Winslow was a member of the editorial board of Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology for 33 years, including 21 years as editor; served as president of the American Society of Plant Physiologists, the California Botanical Society, and the American Institute of Biological Sciences; organized several Gordon conferences and international meetings; and, for 20 years, was director of the Plant Biology Department of the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Many students have been mentored and many visitors hosted in Winslow’s laboratory. His contributions have helped shape the fields of plant physiology in general, and of photomorphogenesis in particular. Our present understanding of blue light photoreception comes in large measure from his 40-year personal quest. Winslow has shown by example how great science and great humanity can go together, how great science is always a team effort, and how joyful it can be. For his many contributions and years of service, it is most fitting that Winslow Briggs should receive the Gude Award.

Created in 1971 to honor the Society’s founding father and the first editor-in-chief of Plant Physiology, this award is designed to recognize young researchers. It is a monetary award made annually and is given for outstanding investigations in the field of plant biology by a scientist who is under 45 years of age on January 1 of the year of presentation, or who is fewer than 10 years from the granting of the doctoral degree. The recipient is invited to address the Society at the annual meeting the following year.

Charles Albert Shull Award Committee

The 2009 winner is...

Steven E. Jacobsen
University of California

Steve Jacobsen is this year’s recipient of the Charles A. Shull Award for his pioneering research in critical areas of plant genetics, development, cell biology, and biochemistry. As a graduate student, Steve investigated the role of gibberellins in flower development and cloned SPINDLY, which encodes an O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase that negatively regulates gibberellin signaling. This was a key discovery that laid the foundation for much of the current work in this area. Steve then moved into the field of DNA methylation and epigenetic regulation of gene expression as a postdoctoral fellow in the Meyerowitz laboratory. There he studied mutations that affect the Arabidopsisflower development gene SUPERMAN. The CLARK KENT mutation he identified was relatively stable, but not stable enough for fine mapping, and as a result, traditional approaches for identifying the gene involved were not suitable. Steve’s acute observations of the unusual nature of the mutation led him to show that the CLARK KENT mutations were epigenetic variants of the SUPERMAN gene that were inactivated by hypermethylation. As a result of this pioneering work, other epialleles of other genes were also identified. Steve started his own lab at UCLA in 1998, and there went on to discover and characterize other genes involved in methylation of DNA and histones, including CHROMOMETHYLASE3 and KRYPTONITE. His group also discovered that ARGONAUTE4, which was known to play a role in RNA interference, was involved with small RNAs to target specific genes for methylation. In short, Steve and his colleagues have developed many of the tools required to study epigenetic regulation and have used them to uncover many aspects of the complex interactions among DNA methylation, histone modification, and siRNA function in Arabidopsis. In large part as a result of Steve’s work, the field of epigenetics is exploding and plants have been at center stage. In addition to research, Steve is also very active in teaching and mentoring as well as service to the scientific community through production of genetic resources and service on many editorial boards, grant panels, and committees. In summary, Steve Jacobsen is a brilliant researcher who pursues the most challenging problems and in so doing is revealing the complexities of genome regulation. He is most deserving of this prestigious award.

This award was established by an endowment from the Kettering Foundation in 1962 to recognize excellence in the field of photosynthesis. It is a monetary award to be given in even-numbered years to an individual for meritorious work in photosynthesis.

Charles F. Kettering Award Committee

The 2008 winner is...

Robert E. Blankenship
Washington University

The Charles F. Kettering Award of the American Society of Plant Biologists for 2008 is awarded to Robert Blankenship. This award, established by the Kettering Foundation in 1962, is intended to recognize excellence in the field of photosynthesis. In Bob’s 30-year career, he has set very high standards in research, teaching, and service.

Bob’s impact on the field of photosynthesis has been broad and multidisciplinary, encompassing photosynthetic bacteria, algae, and terrestrial plants. His many publications in highly regarded journals are testimony to his seminal and varied contributions in areas as wide-ranging as primary electron transfer events, antennae structure and function, the origin and evolution of photosynthesis, and even in astrobiology. In his extraordinarily diverse research, he has studied photosystems using fast spectroscopy and many other biophysical approaches. Bob’s research has been key to our understanding of the antenna systems and reaction centers of plant photosystems I and II, cyanobacteria, and the purple and green bacteria, and he has pioneered investigations of unusual photosynthetic organisms such as the heliobacteria and a newly discovered green sulfur photosynthetic bacterium living near deep-sea hydrothermal vents that utilizes light from geothermal radiation.

Bob’s interest in the evolution of photosynthesis was kindled during his early experience in teaching as assistant professor at Amherst College. Since then, he has developed a world-class research program producing far-reaching insights through use of molecular and genomic approaches to explore the evolutionary pathway between anoxygenic and oxygenic photosynthesis. The structure-based sequence comparisons of reaction center complexes performed by Bob and his colleagues, across most groups of phototrophs, resulted in a widely accepted proposal of a unified evolutionary tree in which horizontal gene transfer has been a central feature.

While chairman of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Arizona State University, Bob was instrumental in attracting federal funding to establish the Center for the Study of Early Events in Photosynthesis. Under his leadership over 10 years, the center gained widespread recognition as the leading group of investigators in photosynthesis, all of whom Bob recruited.

Bob has provided unparalleled service to the field of photosynthesis, of which three contributions stand out as particularly significant. He was editor-in-chief of Photosynthesis Research for 11 years, and his hard work was important to the success the journal enjoys today. Subsequently, he served as president of the International Society of Photosynthesis Research, 2001–2004. Finally, his 2002 textbook, Molecular Mechanisms of Photosynthesis, was a tremendous undertaking to cover the molecular basis of the life-essential processes of photosynthesis; it is recognized as a standard primer in the field. Bob has obviously been interested in the big picture of how photosynthesis evolved, its diversity among organisms, and the variations of mechanisms that organisms use to harvest and utilize solar energy. His exceptional personal and organizational skills, enthusiasm, and interest in education have also made him a very effective advocate for general scientific and photosynthetic research. His achievements exemplify the qualities recognized by the Charles F. Kettering Award, and the Society is pleased to present this year’s award to Bob Blankenship.

This is the oldest award, established in l925 at the first annual meeting of the Society through the generosity of Dr. Charles A. Shull. It honors Dr. Charles Reid Barnes, the first professor of plant physiology at the University of Chicago. It is an annual award for meritorious work in plant biology; it provides a life membership in the Society to an individual who is at least sixty years old. Membership is not a requirement for the award, and, if appropriate, every fifth award should be made to an outstanding plant biologist from outside the United States.

Charles Reid Barnes Life Membership Award Committee

The 2009 winners are...

Tom Guilfoyle and Gretchen Hagen
University of Missouri

Tom Guilfoyle and Gretchen Hagen are co-recipients of the Barnes Award for 2009. Th e year 2009 represents an exciting moment in the 84-year history of the Barnes Award, as it is the fi rst time that this award has recognized a highly successful team of researchers. Tom received his PhD from the University of Illinois, Urbana, in 1974. Aft er a three-year NIH postdoctoral at the University of Georgia with Joe Key, he was appointed assis-tant professor in the Department of Botany at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul, and promoted to professor in 1984. Gretchen received her PhD in 1978 from the University of Minnesota. Aft er a two-year postdoctoral, she joined Tom’s lab as an NIH postdoctoral fellow and was promoted to research associate in1983. Tom and Gretchen both joined the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Missouri in 1986 as part of the new, state-funded Food for the 21st Century program. Gretchen and Tom are best known for their seminal work on the mechanism of auxin action, especially their discoveries relating to transcriptional regulation of auxin-regulated genes. Th eir work led to the identifi cation of auxin response elements and auxin response factors, discoveries that were key to understanding how auxin works in plants. Gretchen and Tom have also made important contributions to caulifl ower mosaic virus transcrip-tion and replication and to an analysis of the plant RNA polymerase complex.Gretchen and Tom have contributed to the success of plant biology by their activities at Missouri, nationally, and though their contributions to our Society. At Missouri they were founding members of the important Food for the 21st Century program. Gretchen has served on several ASPB committ ees, most notably the Committ ee on the Status of Women in Plant Physiology (since renamed the Women in Plant Biology Committ ee). She has also served on numerous NSF and USDA grant panels. Tom has served as associ-ate editor of Plant Physiology and coeditor of Th e Plant Cell and has served the community through membership on NASA, NSF, and USDA grant panels.

Corresponding Membership Award

This honor, initially given in 1932, provides life membership and Society publications to distinguished plant biologists from outside the United States. The honor is conferred by election on the annual ballot. The committee selects no more than three (3) candidates, and these are placed on the ballot for approval of corresponding membership by majority vote. The president notifies successful candidates of their election.  Election of a corresponding member is to be considered each year, and held if warranted, provided the election will not increase the number of corresponding members beyond two (2) percent of the dues-paying membership.

Corresponding Membership Committee

The 2009 winners are...

Murray Ronald Badger
Australian National University

Murray Ronald Badger is a professor at the Australian National University and has been one of the most infl uential scientists in the fi eld of photosynthesis for over 30 years. His work spans several disciplines in plant biology including biochemistry, physiology, molec-ular biology, and genomics. In addition, Murray has worked on a broad array of organisms and ecosystems, ranging from cyanobacteria to higher plants and from marine systems to deserts. He has also authored or coauthored a number of classic papers. Murray’s earliest work focused on Rubisco and its in vivo activation. In a series of elegant studies spanning 25 years, Murray and his collaborators have provided insight into how cyanobacteria take up bicarbonate and convert it to CO2 in the carboxysome. More recently Murray has ap-plied both bioinformatics and genomics to his studies and is well known for the develop-ment of mass spectrometric approaches to measuring gas fl uxes in plants. Murray received his undergraduate degree from Sydney University and his PhD from the Australian National University. He was a CSIRO postdoctoral fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington at Stanford University. He has also served as a visiting fellow at the Universität Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, and the Department of Plant Physiology, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden. He is a professor at the Australian National University and head of the Molecular Plant Physiology Group, deputy director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, and coordinator of the Plant Sciences Research Th eme at the Australian National University. In addition to his contributions to the photosynthesis fi eld, Murray has contributed greatly to the infrastructure of plant science by hosting scientifi c meetings, refereeing manuscripts and proposals, and collaborating with scientists from around the world. He has hosted a large number of scientists in his laboratory over the years. In the past 30 years, Murray has hosted an estimated 20 visiting scientists, helping make Canberra a “Mecca” for plant scientists. Besides reviewing for a large number of journals, Murray has also been on the editorial boards of Photosynthesis Research and Functional Plant Biology. While considered by all a distinguished “senior” member of the scientifi c community, Murray remains friendly and accessible to younger scientists. He oft en provides excellent ideas for future research approaches, no doubt helping many scientists with their work over the years.

William J. Davies
University of Lancaster

William J. Davies has been a faculty member at the University of Lancaster, U.K., for more than 30 years. He is a leading authority on chemical communication between roots and shoots. It has long been recognized that plant growth regulators produced in roots infl u-ence the growth of shoots, and mutants of root-synthesized regulators such as ABA or cytokinins clearly infl uence stomatal behavior and shoot growth. Bill has demonstrated the action of these hormones in the whole plant under natural conditions. He has manipulated root conditions without altering shoot conditions and shown that stomatal behavior and leaf growth change, consistent with root to shoot signaling. Th is basic research has practical applications that are being adopted in agriculture with global impacts. Bill received his BS in horticultural science from Reading University in 1970 and his PhD in forestry and botany from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1974. He completed postdoctoral research at Duke University before joining the faculty at the University of Lancaster. Much of his research was accomplished while he served as direc-tor of the Environment Centre at the University of Lancaster and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Experimental Botany. During these years, numerous scientists have visited his lab and institution and many students have been trained. During his tenure at the Journal of Experimental Botany, Bill arranged for the journal to host symposia at annual meetings of the Society for Experimental Biology and to support other international symposia. Bill is an excellent lecturer revered by his students and colleagues, with whom he continues to publish widely.

This monetary award, established by the Society in 1985 with funds provided by the Monsanto Agricultural Products Company, honors Dr. Dennis R. Hoagland, recipient of the first Hales award, for his outstanding contributions and leadership in plant mineral nutrition. The award, to be made not more frequently than triennially, is for outstanding plant research in support of agriculture.

Dennis R. Hoagland Award Committee

The 2009 winner is...

Jorge Dubcovsky
University of California

Professor Jorge Dubcovsky is recognized for his pioneering work on the genetics and physiology of vernalization responses in temperate cereals, his contribution to the ad-vancement of cereal genomics, and the deployment of cereal genomics in wheat breed-ing. By focusing his research on wheat, Jorge’s accomplishments impact one of the most important human food sources and advance human welfare on the global scale. His lab isolated and characterized a number of important wheat genes, including genes involved in vernalization, frost tolerance, high grain protein content, and recently, a slow rusting resistance gene.

A central theme of Jorge’s research is the regulation of flowering in temperate cereals. His group demonstrated molecular communication between the vernalization and photoperiod pathways and discovered the existence of a complex feedback regula-tory loop that contributes to the irreversible initiation of reproductive development in wheat. Another key advance by Jorge’s team was the cloning of the GPC1 QTL (for Grain Protein Content) from wheat. Transgenic lines with reduced transcripts of this gene ma-ture several weeks later than the control plants and had 30 percent less grain protein, zinc, and iron than the non-transgenic controls. Interestingly, almost all commercial pasta and bread wheat varieties have a non-functional copy of GPC-B1, suggesting that this gene was lost during wheat domestication. Therefore, the reintroduction of the functional gene from the wild species into commercial wheat varieties has the potential to increase grain protein and micronutrient contents signifi cantly. The first varieties including GPC-B1 are being released.

This award was initiated in 1988 to recognize outstanding teaching in plant biology. It is an award to be made not more than triennially in recognition of excellence in teaching, leadership in curricular development, or authorship of effective teaching materials in the science of plant biology.

Excellence in Education Award Committee

The 2007 winner is...

Roger Hangarter
Indiana University

Roger Hangarter is the 2007 ASPB Excellence in Teaching Award recipient. Roger has been selected to receive this award because of his strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate education and his remarkable contribution to engaging students of all ages in the biology of plants. He not only maintains an active, internationally recognized research program, but also serves as an excellent teacher and inspiring mentor. He has developed the “Plants in Motion” website, which has allowed numerous educators to show their students the fascinating growth and topic movements of plants. This website has been cited in numerous articles and journals, including Science. In addition, Roger developed, together with Dennis DeHart, sLowlife, an art installation including video pieces, live plants, prints, and pieces created from plants and fungi. This exhibit has been presented at Indiana University and the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, DC, serving as a broad educational outreach tool. Roger also developed “Plant Dance,” an interactive exhibit about plants for children. Plant Dance has been on display in St. Paul, Minn., Durham, N.C., and Berkeley, Calif., and
continues to travel throughout the country. Roger created Return of the 17-Year Cicadas, a short film documenting the 17-year cicada emergence in 2004. The
film won the Science and Engineering Visualization Award from NSF and the journal Science. Lastly, Roger has contributed plant time-lapse movies to educational agencies and exhibits in various nations.

We in the plant community owe a debt of gratitude to Roger for providing all of us with the tools to excite our students and for showing the public the dynamic life of plants. He is a tireless advocate for plant biology and plant biologists.

The Martin Gibbs Medal was instituted by the Society's executive committee in 1993 to honor Martin Gibbs, editor of Plant Physiology from 1963 to 1992. The Gibbs Medal is presented biennially to an individual who has pioneered advances that have served to establish new directions of investigation in the plant sciences. The winner will receive the medal and will be invited to convene a Martin Gibbs Medal Symposium at the annual meeting the following year.

Martin Gibbs Medal Committee

The 2009 winner is...

John B. Ohlrogge
Michigan State University

It is our pleasure to award John Ohlrogge the 2009 Martin Gibbs Medal. John’s research program is focused primarily on understanding fatty acid metabolism in plant cells. He attached many fundamental problems such as determining the biochemical pathways that lead to the synthesis of common and unusual fatty acids in plants and dissecting the regulatory mechanisms controlling these pathways. He elucidated some of the mechanisms by which fatty acids are incorporated into membrane lipids or sequestered in oil bodies in seeds. More recently, he has also turned his attention to understanding the metabolism of waxes and long chain fatty acids found in the cuticle on the outer surfaces of the plant. In addition, he has maintained a long-standing interest in applying new information derived from his research to practical purposes. For example, he has worked toward creating plants that make different oils that are more beneficial to human health or that are better suited to fuel our vehicles or that can serve as the starting materials for making chemicals currently produced from petroleum.

In addition to his outstanding research program, John is known as an exemplary citizen and mentor of graduate students and postdoctoral associates who have gone on to have their own successful careers. He has a reputation for creating a vibrant laboratory research setting that makes graduate and postgraduate study an enjoyable and stimulating experience. Among many exemplary leadership activities in the scientific community, John helped found and initially directed the National Plant Lipid Cooperative that advances research on plant lipids by improving interaction and communication between scientists in this field.

This award honors the Reverend Stephen Hales for his pioneering work in plant biology published in his 1727 book Vegetable Staticks. It is a monetary award established in 1927 for a scientist, whether or not a member of the Society, who has served the science of plant biology in some noteworthy manner. The award is made annually. The recipient of the award is invited to address the Society on a subject in plant biology at the next annual meeting.

Stephen Hales Prize Committee

The 2009 winner is...

Jeffrey Dangl
University of North Carolina

Jeffery Dangl has played a key role in developing the concepts and elucidating the fundamental mechanisms that govern plant–pathogen interactions. In doing so, he has displayed a rare combination of intellectual leadership and scientific acumen. Jeffery initiated his studies on the plant immune system while a postdoctoral fellow at the Max Planck Institute in Cologne, Germany, bringing to bear his knowledge of mammalian immunology acquired while a PhD student at Stanford University. He continues these studies today in his position as the John N. Couch Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Jeffery has mentored numerous scientists, served on national scientific panels and editorial boards, and acted as an effective proponent for plant research initiatives worldwide. He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 2007.

Jeffery’s work was pivotal in the development of Arabidopsis as a model system in which to study the plant immune responses. As part of his initial studies, he characterized the genetic interaction between Arabidopsis and Pseudomonas bacteria, demonstrating that these displayed the same well-known gene-for-gene relationship found in crop immune responses to pathogens. These genetic studies led to his identification of resistance (R) genes in Arabidopsis, the impact of this work spreading far beyond Arabidopsis, beyond even crop plants, for similar genes were later found to regulate human innate immunity.

Subsequently, Jeffery was instrumental in developing the “Guard Hypothesis” to explain the ability of plant R proteins to protect against pathogens, a protective mechanism that need not require direct interaction between the R protein and the pathogen protein. Instead, many R proteins monitor the integrity of cellular proteins targeted by the pathogens. Jeffery’s work is not restricted to the plant side of this molecular arms race, and he has recently been on the front line in the development of genomic approaches to identify the repertoire of pathogen effector molecules.

For these achievements, ASPB recognizes Jeffery Dangl with the 2009 Stephen Hales Award.

Early Career

The Early Career was instituted by the Society's executive committee in 2005 to recognize outstanding research by scientists at the beginning of their careers. This award is a monetary award made annually for exceptionally creative, independent contributions by a member of the Society who is not more than five years post-Ph.D. on January 1st of the year of the presentation.

Early Career Award Committee

The 2009 winner is...

Siobhan Brady
University of California

Siobhán Brady, assistant professor at the University of California Genome Center and Section of Plant Biology, is recognized as “a rising star in the area of plant systems biological research” and as having “a rare combination” of qualities “that truly deserves to be recognized.” Siobhán obtained her PhD working with Professor Peter McCourt at the University of Toronto, Canada, on abscisic acid signaling. Not only had she mastered a strong background in hormone signaling during this early period of her training, she was also quick to realize the power of systems biology in the dissection of regulatory networks in Arabidopsis. It was at the University of Toronto that Siobhán made significant contribution in the bioinformatics of cis-element identification for tissue-specific transcriptional regulatory networks in Arabidopsis. She was awarded a prestigious and highly competitive postdoctoral fellowship from the Canadian government. In her postdoctoral work in Professor Philip Benfey’s laboratory at Duke University, Siobhán took on what her mentor referred to as “the greatest challenge” in determining the expression profiles of all the cell types in the root. She examined individual roots so as to achieve profiling of all the developmental stages along the longitudinal axis of the root. For this work, she had to develop new software tools to accomplish analysis of data along both the radial and longitudinal axes of the root. It is her ability to identify and work with the right people that further distinguishes her accomplishments from those of her peers. The result is a seminal paper in Science that revealed a high-resolution spatiotemporal expression map for root development. Dr. Benfey referred to Siobhán as “fearless” in adopting new techniques and as “a leader in scientific discussions and in lab organization.” Siobhán had mentored many younger students in the Benfey laboratory. In addition, she also took on a leadership role in running a Duke summer undergraduate research program that had a combined focus on mathematical modeling and biology. She was recognized by Duke University and named “Outstanding Postdoc” in 2007. Her accomplishments indicate that she “will be a natural leader among the next generation of systems biologists,” and we look forward to hearing of her future success.

Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research

The ASPB Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research was approved by the Society’s executive committee in 2005 to honor Dr. Bogorad’s many contributions to plant biology, including his influential efforts to bring the techniques of molecular biology to bear on problems in plant biology; his groundbreaking research on chloroplast genetics, biogenesis, structure, and function;and his inspired teaching and mentoring. The ASPB Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research is a monetary award made biennially to a plant scientist whose work both illuminates the present and suggests paths to enlighten the future. This award is being awarded for the first time in 2006.

Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research Committee

The 2008 winner is...

Steven Huber
University of Illinois

In awarding the Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research to Steve Huber, we recognize a pioneering researcher in photosynthesis and plant metabolism. Over his 30-year career, Steve has to his credit a remarkable series of novel discoveries and breakthrough contributions that have led the way in shaping our current understanding of the intersection of leaf nitrogen metabolism and photosynthetic carbon metabolism. In particular, Steve is a world authority on the mechanisms of protein modification in plant enzyme regulation and signal transduction. While his various projects connect through the mechanisms of protein modification, they are diverse in the sense of investigating a wide range of important agricultural issues ranging from the control of seed composition, to stressassociated signaling, to the mechanisms of hormone action. A key to the exceptional long-term success and prominence of Steve’s science is that as his research projects mature and the underlying mechanisms are revealed, he moves fearlessly on to the next system and the next question that will drive the next step in understanding the control and mechanism of leaf CN metabolism.

Steve brings the type of focus and adventurous spirit to his science as was exemplified in the extraordinary career of this award’s namesake. Steve has never been afraid to tackle a difficult problem, and he always makes significant progress. Indeed, the breadth of his success can be measured in several tangible ways, including his recognition as an ISI Highly Cited author, designating him as one of“the world’s most influential researchers.” Further demonstration of research impact is whether the work has led to textbooks being rewritten, and Steve’s research has done just that. His seminal work elucidating the regulatory mechanisms for sucrose synthesis and nitrogen metabolism changed our basic understanding of both carbon and nitrogen metabolism in plants. These concepts are now an integral part of undergraduate and graduate plant physiology and biochemistry textbooks. For example, Professor Hans Heldt notes that his 2005 Academic Press Plant Biochemistry text highlights “the findings of Steve Huber on the regulation of sucrose phosphate synthase and nitrate reductase.”

Steve is in the midst of a truly exceptional scientific career in plant biology. In addition to his scientific achievements, he is a dedicated mentor of students and postdocs, a valued colleague and adviser, and an unselfish promoter of the discipline. For these many contributions and achievements, Steve Huber is a very deserving recipient of the 2008 Lawrence Bogorad Award.

ASPB-Pioneer Hi-Bred International Graduate Student Prize

This award, made possible by the generosity of Pioneer Hi-Bred International (http://www.pioneer.com), recognizes and encourages innovative graduate research and innovation in areas of plant biology that relate to important commodity crops. Three $5,000 prizes will be given annually from 2006 through 2009, with an additional $1,000 awarded for prize recipients attending the ASPB annual meeting in the year of their award. Each nominee must attend a U.S.-accredited college or university and must demonstrate interest in the study of plant biology or a related discipline. Each nominee must be a Ph.D. candidate—i.e., have successfully passed their preliminary examinations, must demonstrate an excellent academic record, and must be a member of ASPB. An individual may receive this prize only once.

ASPB-Pioneer Hi-Bred Graduate Student Fellowship Committee

The 2009 winners are:

Elliot Heffner
Cornell University

Elliot Heffner is a PhD student in the plant breeding program at Cornell University in the laboratory of Mark Sorrells. He is also pursuing minor areas of study in business management and international agriculture and rural development. Elliot’s dissertation research focuses on evaluation of plant breeding methodologies. He is using material in the Cornell Soft White Winter Wheat Breeding Program to test the efficacy of genomic selection, a relatively new plant breeding method. His research will compare results achieved with genomic selection to those obtained from more traditional marker-assisted and phenotypic selection approaches. Elliot has already published a review article on genomic selection in the journal Crop Science, and he is the first author on a publication resulting from a rotation project he conducted. At Cornell, Elliot was a recipient of a USDA National Needs Fellowship and several other awards. He has accumulated an impressive record of service. While president in 2008 of “Synapsis,” the Cornell Plant Breeding and Genetics Graduate Group, Elliot raised funds from industry to finance a trip for Cornell graduate students to attend the National Plant Breeding conference and visit industry field stations. Elliot also has a passion for teaching and is currently teaching genetics to inmates at a local prison. He plans for a career in plant breeding in the private sector.

Justin McGrath
The University of Illinois

Justin McGrath is a PhD student in plant biology at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, in the lab of Lisa Ainsworth. His research is focused on understanding how plants respond to changes in carbon dioxide and ozone levels, with a goal of predicting how future climate change will affect the growth, development, and productivity of crop plants. His research uses the free area concentration enrichment (FACE) facilities and has investigated responses in both aspen trees and soybean. Justin monitored a large number of different parameters and has found that elevated carbon dioxide and ozone concentrations affect leaf size, leaf number, and photosynthetic capacity. His research has revealed complex species- and cultivar-specific effects. Justin has been an active participant in the UIUC SoyFACE research group and is a valued collaborator, as demonstrated by his coauthorship on several publications. He has also been an active member of the Plant Biology Association of Graduate Students. Justin wants to continue research on climate change, with the goal of defining how crop plants respond and ultimately using that knowledge to improve crop productivity and quality.

Justin Walley
University of California

Justin Walley is a PhD student in plant biology at the University of California, Davis, in the laboratory of Katie Dehesh. His research focuses on plant responses to stress and he ultimately hopes to identify genes that can be manipulated to confer broad-spectrum stress tolerance in crop plants. Justin performed microarray experiments to characterize changes in the Arabidopsis transcriptome after 5 minutes of wounding. He then compared his data with those from microarray studies done on other stress treatments and determined that there was a significant overlap between transcripts showing a rapid wound response (RWR) and transcripts altered by other stress treatments. Justin identified a cis-regulatory element in the promoters of RWR genes and showed that this motif is sufficient to confer a response to many diverse biotic and abiotic stresses. His research has also revealed a role for chromatin remodeling and mRNA turnover in the plant stress response. Justin’s research has resulted in first-author publications in PLoS Pathogens and PLoS Genetics, and he also contributed to a publication in Plant Physiology. He is now beginning to move his research into crop plants. Justin has been an active member of the Plant Biology Graduate Group at UC Davis—he served as president of its Graduate Student Association, as graduate student recruitment organizer, and as a representative on faculty search and seminar committees. Justin hopes to continue his career in plant-stress research either in academia or in the private sector.

Fellow of ASPB Award

Established in 2007, the Fellow of ASPB award may be granted in recognition of distinguished and long-term contributions to plant biology and service to the Society by current members in areas that include research, education, mentoring, outreach, and professional and public service. Current members of ASPB who have contributed to the Society for at least 10 years 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.

Fellow of ASPB Award Committee

The 2009 ASPB Fellows are:

The 2008 ASPB Fellows are:

The 2007 inaugural class of ASPB Fellows are:

The goal of this program is to provide opportunities for students to pursue meaningful research in plant biology at their home institutions early in their college years.The program targets students who have just completed their sophomore year of their undergraduate studies. But exceptionally well-prepared students who have just completed their first year are also considered, as are students who have completed their junior years and provide evidence of a strong commitment to plant biology.Recipients are expected to present their results at the ASPB national meeting the following summer (with funding provided by ASPB Travel Grants).With such an opportunity, ASPB hopes to encourage students to pursue careers and advanced degrees in plant biology.

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