PUBLIC AFFAIRS

ASPB Member Doug Randall Appointed to Second Term on National Science Board
Seeks to Communicate and Expand the Value of Plant Biology to the Economy and Global Competitiveness of the Nation

National Science Board (NSB) and ASPB member Douglas Randall has been appointed to his second consecutive six-year term on the governing board of the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).

The NSB is composed of 24 part-time members appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They are selected on the basis of their eminence in basic, medical, or social sciences; engineering; agriculture; education; research management; or public affairs.

Randall is enthusiastic about continuing his work because “the NSB is made up of talented people from across the science and engineering fields. The 24 board members are an outstanding group of dedicated people.”

Focused on contributing to the synergy of the group, Randall explains, “The majority of the board members are not working at the bench or lab level, so I believe I must ensure that I provide a voice from the ‘trench or bench’ when we are discussing and making policy decisions.”

Randall wants the science and engineering community and the public to be aware that NSF allocates almost 95% of the funds it receives to support science and engineering research and education. He believes such an effective funding mechanism shows “the incredible dedication of the people working at NSF from the bottom to the top. NSF is a truly outstanding agency and the board is dedicated to maintaining this excellence.”

According to Randall, NSB will continue to encourage NSF to fund transformative research. This future-focused attitude will ensure that the directorates can continue to have the means to support excellence and creativity. He hopes that such effort will also provide a means of putting goals out there for students and postdocs to address in their most creative and bold ways.

One difficulty of funding any research is that plant biology is a part of the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO; where most plant biology research is funded), which is currently budgeted for a smaller increase than the other directorates. Randall explains that this budgeting decision stems largely from the perception outside NSF that all things BIO are funded by NIH. Of course, the current reality is that NIH will support only research that has a link to “health/biomedical,” and the vast majority of BIO research is not biomedically related. Randall hopes to work with others to change this perception. He states, “It is my personal belief that the plant biology community needs to identify its grand challenge questions and then use them as a central, but not exclusive, guide to communicate the message to Congress, to the administration, and to the public.”

Randall is well aware of the obstacles created by the nation’s current fiscal situation. He believes that in the next couple of years, research may be perceived as a luxury by many decision makers in Washington as we try to climb out of this recession. He states, “I expect there will be very tight and reduced budgets. It will be critical that we don’t lose a number of researchers during this downturn, and I see this as a major policy issue that we as a board must look at during these tight times.”

When asked specifically about NSF’s plans for funding high-risk/high-payoff, transformative research in plant biology, Randall commented, “Personally I would favor a separate initiative that would consider research that is potentially transformative, e.g., paradigm shifting or that could create a new field or direction of research. It need not be large—$10 million to $20 million per year across the Foundation and with a somewhat different merit review process should be sufficient to start.”

According to Randall, the NSB and the Foundation also consider improving and enhancing K–20 science education, including the integration of plant biology, as critical to the future of cutting-edge research. He states, “It is a constant effort and it needs the attention of all researchers. Science and engineering education will be on the board’s table constantly in the coming years.”

To facilitate improvements in undergraduate education, Randall indicates that researchers should join together with the education community to address specific program needs. He also plans to keep supporting the role of expert involvement with informal science education (e.g., public understanding, science museums, exhibits), since this coordination is integral to science and to our nation’s ability to remain competitive. He encourages all kinds of involvement including all researchers talking with their program directors about education issues because “we cannot separate education across the entire spectrum from excellence in research.” He adds, “I think ASPB as a whole, along with efforts of individual members, has done a great job in the education arena, and the entire plant biology community must continue such involvement at all levels.”

Communication is integral to involvement and improvement at any level and so Randall welcomes input from experts in the plant biology community: “I really want to hear about NSF policies that impact (positively or negatively) ASPB members’ abilities to do research and do science and engineering education. Oftentimes policies have unforeseen impacts, and sometimes the ‘impact’ is due to a misunderstanding of the policy or to perceptions that are not there.” He reminds us that since the NSB is a policy and oversight board for the Foundation (and provides advice to Congress and the administration when asked), the most valuable input is based on those things that impact the bigger picture for our community.

To share your experience and ideas with Randall, it is best to e-mail him at randalld@missouri.edu. If needed, he can be called at 573-882-4847.

Doug Randall received his BS in chemistry in 1965 from South Dakota State University and PhD in biochemistry from Michigan State University in 1970 under the mentorship of Ed Tolbert. He was an NIH postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas–Austin with Lester Reed.

Currently, Randall is a professor of biochemistry and Thomas Jefferson Fellow at the University of Missouri. He joined the faculty in 1971 and worked as a plant biochemist in the Agricultural Chemistry Department. His research at the university has focused on plant metabolism; signal transduction; regulation of plant enzymes; and understanding the metabolic interactions between photosynthesis, photorespiration, and respiration. The characterization of the plant alpha ketoacid dehydrogenase multi-enzyme complexes, including the identification of the genes, the import and assembly of the component subunits, and the regulation of the complexes in various organelles has been a primary theme.

Randall’s research team established the first plant enzyme to be regulated by reversible phosphorylation (the addition or subtraction of a phosphate group to a protein or small molecule) and verified that this biochemical switch mechanism regulates which pathway supports mitochondrial energy production during photosynthesis.

To promote research on plant protein phosphorylation and the kinases and phosphatases that catalyze this biological switch mechanism, Randall founded the Plant Protein Phosphorylation Working Group. This group is composed of more than 45 research teams across the nation. While working with plant biology colleagues at MU, Randall helped establish the Interdisciplinary Plant Biochemistry and Physiology Group in 1981. Under Randall’s directorship and MU’s Food for 21st Century Program, this group has grown from nine to more than 40 research teams. Randall was also active in developing the Life Sciences Center on the Columbia campus and the Donald Danforth Plant Sciences Center in St. Louis.

Randall has served on the editorial boards of Plant Physiology, Annual Reviews of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology, Protein Expression and Purification, Biochemical Archives, and Current Topics in Plant Biochemistry and Physiology. He is a past officer and chair of the board of trustees of the American Society of Plant Biologists. He currently serves on the Science Liaison Committee for the Danforth Plant Science Center and works to facilitate interdisciplinary research and training.

Randall’s work has been recognized many times. He has received honors including the MU system’s Thomas Jefferson Professorship in 2005, MU’s William H. Byler Distinguished Professor Award, a Faculty/Alumni Award from MU, South Dakota State University’s Distinguished Alumni Award, Michigan State Biochemistry Department’s Alumni Award, and MU’s Gold Chalk Teaching Award.