ENGINEERINGNET.EU -- Friml receives the award for defining how the plant hormone auxin functions to regulate plant development. He was also recognized for showing how the auxin-governed molecular processes optimise adaptation of plant development and growth to ever-changing environmental conditions.
Friml is currently a professor in the Department of Plant Systems Biology at the University of Ghent in Belgium, and head of a research group at the Flanders Institute of Biotechnology in Ghent.
The 39-year-old scientist has published more than 130 original research publications and reviews in top international journals and belongs to the most cited plant biologists worldwide.
“His groundbreaking results influence and continue to shape present and future efforts in a number of areas of plant biology research,” stated EMBO Member Ferenc Nagy.
The results of Friml’s research are of major importance to agriculture as they provide a basis for targeted engineering that could lead to the development of plants that produce higher yields or which are more resistant to drought.
“Being awarded by my peers from EMBO is an immense honour and gives me great encouragement for my further work. I would like to think that this award is not only for me but also in a wider sense for plant research which deserves more support and could definitely benefit from more awareness,” said the Gold Medal winner.
BACKGROUND
Jirí Friml’s research highlights include:
• Showing that transport-dependent morphogenetic auxin gradients and maxima underlie processes such as embryonal development, formation of all plant organs, differentiation and regeneration of tissues as well as responses to external signals such as light and gravity
• Establishing the concept that auxin acts as a versatile trigger providing spatial and temporal information to reprogram cellular behavior
• Demonstrating the clathrin-mediated mechanism of endocytosis in plants along with the developmental significance of this process in the field of plant cell biology
• Revealing mechanisms that govern cell polarity in plants and its importance for both hormonal signaling and development
