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Dixon Named PSNA President |
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News release
issued September 13, 2000, effective immediately. Dixon Named PSNA President ARDMORE, Okla. - Noble Foundation's Plant Biology Division Director Richard A. Dixon was named president of the Phytochemical Society of North America during its annual meeting in Beltsville, Md., this August. He had served one year as president-elect after being elected to that post at the society's previous annual meeting in Montreal, Canada. Two major tasks await him from the outset Ñ stressing the continuing importance of basic chemistry to newer molecular plant sciences such as genomics, which deals with large scale gene sequencing and gene expression analysis, and the planning of the next annual PSNA convention, to be held in Oklahoma City next August. The theme of this meeting will be Phytochemistry in the Genomics and Post-Genomics Era. "The Phytochemistry Society is an important organization for promoting awareness of the potential impacts of plant science in the United States," Dixon said. "I'll be promoting the society and its aims, showing the importance of phytochemistry (the chemistry of plant natural products) in the new genomics revolution." It won't be as easy as it may sound. "Chemistry is not seen by many as highly relevant to genomics and biotechnology," he said, "but that conception is changing. At the same time, many plant chemists have not taken advantage of the tremendous scientific breakthroughs resulting from the application of molecular technologies. I hope to bring the two sides together to understand that they depend on one another if we are to fully exploit the potential for modifying plants to improve their yield, disease resistance and nutritional value." He expects about 200 of the 420 members of the organization to attend the PSNA convention next summer. Papers and research presented at all PSNA conventions are published in "Recent Advances in Phytochemistry." "It (PSNA) has a very broad membership," Dixon said, consisting of students through established senior researchers. "The organization is very student oriented, however, and provides encouragement in the form of competitive stipends and awards for selected students attending the annual meeting." One of Dixon's rallying cries was voiced in an editorial printed in the PSNA newsletter earlier this year. In the editorial, Dixon figures it usually is easier to train a chemist or biochemist to become a molecular biologist than it is to train a molecular biologist or geneticist to become a good biochemist or phytochemist. "Those enzymes and small molecules all seem to have different properties, and there don't seem to be any expensive kits to help solve the problems, in contrast to the case with molecular biology!" he stated. "It is therefore of critical importance for our field that young scientists with an interest in plant chemistry become familiar with the new fields of functional and structural genomics. "They should not, however, forego a rigorous training in all aspects of plant chemistry," he added in the opinion piece. "The older ones among us should also be looking for new opportunities to apply our knowledge of plant chemistry and biochemistry in the context of the new advances in plant science." Dixon has been director of the NF Plant Biology Division since it was formed in January 1988. He comes from the United Kingdom, where he received his bachelor's and doctorate degrees in botany, specializing in plant biochemistry, from the University of Oxford. # # # 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 downloadable headshot: Richard Dixon (315 k
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