Salk professor Joanne Chory awarded 2012 Genetics Society of America Medal

January 20, 2012

Salk professor Joanne Chory awarded 2012 Genetics Society of America Medal

Leader in plant biology research recognized for outstanding contributions to the field of genetics

January 20, 2012

LA JOLLA, CA—The Genetics Society of America(GSA) has honored 乔安·乔里, Salk Institute professor and director of the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory and Howard H. and Maryam R. Newman Chair in Plant Biology, as the recipient of the prestigious 2012 Genetics Society of America Medal.

GSA established the Genetics Society of America Medal in 1981 to recognize mid-career researchers for outstanding contributions to the field of genetics during the previous 15 years of their careers; it is one of five awards given out annually by the prestigious organization for “distinguished service in the field of genetics.”

GSA President Philip Hieter, Ph.D., said,”the individuals honored this year exemplify the seminal contributions that genetics makes to our fundamental understanding of living systems, helping point the way toward such applications as developing new treatments for human disease and increasing the yields of agricultural crops. We are delighted to honor these geneticists who have added so much not only to our field, but to society as a whole.”

Chory, an expert on how plants regulate their growth, pioneered the analysis of plant responses using genetic approaches in 拟南芥 to reveal the molecular mechanisms underlying plant development. Her laboratory has led the plant field for 20 years and made major discoveries in how plants detect and respond to changes in their environment, particularly light, which has implications for the growth and development of agricultural crops in challenging environments. She elucidated how plants perceive light; identified how chloroplasts signal to the nucleus; and defined a new pathway for the biosynthesis of the plant hormone auxin. She also discovered a novel steroid hormone in plants, identified the steroid receptor and elegantly dissected the signaling network.

“The Genetics Society of America Medal is a tremendous honor and underscores Joanne’s extraordinary impact and leadership in the field of plant biology,” said William R. Brody, President, Salk Institute. “For more than two decades, Joanne has been a driving force in understanding how plants detect and respond to changes in the environment.”

Chory has received many awards and honors throughout her career including the Award for Initiatives in Research from the National Academy of Sciences, the L’Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science and the Kumho Award in Plant Molecular Biology among others. In 2003, she was named Scientific American’s Research Leader in Agriculture. Chory is a member of the Royal Society, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science as well as a foreign associate of the French Academy of Sciences and an associate member of EMBO.

In 2011, Thomson Reuters Essential Science Indicators named the Salk Institute as the number one research organization for plant biology in the world.

About the Genetics Society of America:
Founded in 1931, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) is the professional scientific society for genetics researchers and educators. Its nearly 5,000 members work to advance knowledge in the basic mechanisms of inheritance, from the molecular to the population level. GSA promotes research and fosters communication among geneticists worldwide through a number of GSA-sponsored conferences including the biennial conference on Model Organisms to Human Biology, an interdisciplinary meeting on current and cutting edge topics in genetics research, and annual and biennial meetings that focus on the genetics of particular model organisms. GSA publishes GENETICS, the leading journal for seminal research in the field and a new, online publication, G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, which publishes high quality foundational research, particularly research that generates useful genetic and genomic information. For more information about GSA, please visit www.genetics-gsa.org.

关于索尔克生物研究所：
索尔克生物研究所是世界顶尖的基础研究机构之一，其国际知名的教职人员在一个独特、协作和富有创造性的环境中，深入探究生命科学的基本问题。索尔克科学家们致力于发现和指导未来几代研究人员，通过研究神经科学、遗传学、细胞和植物生物学以及相关学科，在癌症、衰老、阿尔茨海默氏症、糖尿病和传染病的认识方面做出了开创性的贡献。.

学院取得了许多成就，获得了包括诺贝尔奖和美国国家科学院院士在内的无数荣誉。该研究所由脊髓灰质炎疫苗先驱 Jonas Salk 博士于 1960 年创立，是一家独立的非营利组织和建筑地标。.