European Molecular Biology Laboratory announced Jiří Friml of the Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB and Ghent University, Belgium and Central European Institute of Technology, University Brno, Czech Republic as the winner of the 2012 EMBO Gold Medal. 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.
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.
The achievements of the Czech-born scientist have been internationally recognized: he was
elected a member of EMBO, he is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
and the recipient of the Heinz-Meyer Leibnitz prize and the Körber European Science Award.
Jiří Friml will receive the EMBO Gold Medal and an award of 10,000 euros on 23 September 2012
at The EMBO Meeting in Nice where he will give a lecture about his research.
27 Jun 2012
Česky
