Royal Society honours pioneering science of TSL adviser
The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) has welcomed the announcement that long-standing advisor Professor Brian Staskawicz is today elected as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society.
Professor Staskawicz, a pioneer in plant/microbe interactions from the University of California, Berkeley, was first to clone “avirulence” (recognized effector) genes from plant pathogens, and show their role in virulence.
He was among the first to clone plant resistance genes that encode intracellular NLR immune receptors.
Brian Staskawicz
Professor Jonathan Jones, a group leader at the TSL said: “Since 1987, Brian’s unwavering insistence on excellence at TSL has greatly contributed to our science.
“He continues to contribute to TSL vision and science quality, and we look forward to celebrating with him during his next visit in May.”
The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship of many of the world’s most distinguished scientists.
There are approximately 1,600 Fellows and Foreign Members, including around 80 Nobel Laureates. Each year up to 52 Fellows and up to 10 Foreign Members are elected from a group of around 700 candidates who are proposed by the existing Fellowship.
Dr Venki Ramakrishnan, President of the Royal Society said: “Over the course of the Royal Society’s vast history, it is our Fellowship that has remained a constant thread and the substance from which our purpose has been realised: to use science for the benefit of humanity.”
