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Foundation promotions announced |
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News release
issued August 3, 2001, effective immediately. Foundation promotions announced ARDMORE, Okla. - Several members of the Noble Foundation's Plant Biology Division staff have received promotions recently, according to Dr. Rick Dixon, director of the division. Dr. Maria J. Harrison was recently promoted to the position of Full Scientist within the Plant Biology Division of The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, Inc. "This is the equivalent to the position of Full Professor at a premier academic institute," Dixon said. "The promotion involved external evaluation by an international group of leading plant scientists. They all pointed to the major impact that Dr. Harrison's research program at the Noble Foundation has had in furthering her particular field of science, and pronounced her a world leader in that field." Dr. Harrison's research is directed toward understanding the mechanisms by which plants enter into beneficial interactions with root-invading fungi. Such "mycorrhizal" fungi assist the plant in taking up phosphate from the soil, and Dr Harrison's group was the first to identify the gene encoding the fungal phosphate transporter. She has been instrumental in developing the model legume Medicago truncatula, a close relative of alfalfa, as a model genetic system for her own area of research, and for plant biology research in general. Harrison received her Ph.D. in plant molecular biology from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, United Kingdom, in 1988, followed by postdoctoral research in the Plant Biology Division at the Noble Foundation. She joined the permanent staff of the NF Plant Biology Division in 1990 as an Assistant Scientist, and was promoted to Associate Scientist in 1996. She is an Adjunct Professor at Oklahoma State University in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and at Texas A & M University in the Department of Biology. Harrison has published 55 research or review articles in scientific journals, and travels extensively as an invited speaker at national and international scientific meetings. She currently serves as an Associate Editor for the journal Mycorrhiza, and is a Senior Editor for Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions and New Phytologist. In addition to the support of her work by the Noble Foundation, Dr. Harrison's research is also funded by the National Science Foundation. Dr. Bob Gonzales, who had served as head of the Foundation's Molecular Analysis and Synthesis Section (MASS), was named Plant Biology Divisional Administrative Manager effective July 1. His new duties will include managing the division's support functions while continuing his leadership of the MASS group. "Dr. Gonzales has served the Division well in his previous position as head of the MASS group," said Dixon. "He has also has gained considerable administrative experience as Institutional Radiation Safety Officer, and his promotion to the New Administrative Manager position gives him an opportunity to combine his skills in science and administration. His new position will be a challenging one as the Plant Biology Division undergoes a significant expansion." Robert Williams, who had served as leader of the Plant Biology Division support group, was selected to serve as Foundation Safety Officer. "Robert has done a fine job as support group manager," said Dixon. "He came to us with a very strong background in industrial safety, and I am pleased that we have been able to accommodate his skills in this area through this new promotion." His new responsibilities will include managing the safety needs of the Foundation as a whole. Also promoted recently was Dr. Ping Xu, who assumed the position of Senior Research Associate II in the laboratory of Dr. Marilyn Roossinck. In this position, Dr. Xu will continue to perform her own research on the ways in which viruses cause disease in plants, in addition to assuming responsibilities to ensure the smooth running of Dr. Roossinck's lab, which also works on how plant viruses evolve. ### Photos: Dr. Maria Harrison | Dr. Bob Gonzales | Robert Williams | Dr. Ping Xu ### The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a non-profit organization conducting agricultural, forage biotechnological, and plant biology research; providing grants to numerous non-profit charitable, educational and health organizations; and assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs. To learn more, check out the Noble Foundation Web site at http://www.noble.org. More news releases available at www.noble.org/Press_Release |
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