The Fellow Award recognizes current members of the SIVB who have been active members for at least 10 years. A Fellow has made outstanding contributions in their area of specialization or discipline to include research, teaching, and administration in public, government, academic or private industry activities. The Society for In Vitro Biology honored Dennis Gray and Wayne Parrot with Fellow Awards at the 2010 In Vitro Biology Meeting. Dr. Dennis Gray was highlighted in the last issue of the In Vitro Report and Dr. Wayne Parrot is highlighted in this issue.
Wayne Parrott, 2010 Fellow Award Winner
It was a pleasure to nominate Wayne Parrott for one of the 2010 SIVB Fellow Awards. He is very deserving of this recognition for not only his research achievements but also for his willingness to be “the voice” of plant biotechnology. The popular press has interviewed Wayne on countless occasions and he is recognized by the media as the leading advocate for promoting plant biotechnology. I also need to recognize Peggy Ozias-Akins, Neal Stewart, Greg Phillips, Jim Roberts and Glenn Collins for their letters and/or words of support in Wayne’s nomination. Input from these individuals echoed the sentiment that Wayne is an extremely gifted researcher who demonstrates his passion for science in the lab, in the press or on field trips with students to Latin America.
Dr. Wayne Parrot has devoted his professional life to the betterment of plant in vitro biology. As an undergraduate student at the University of Kentucky, he contacted Dr. Glenn Collins to conduct a student research project working with tobacco tissue culture. Glenn asked a graduate student by the name of Gregory Phillips to teach Wayne the basics of plant tissue culture. Wayne then went to the University of Wisconsin and received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in Plant Breeding & Plant Genetics. He then performed postdoctoral fellowships in Plant Genetics at the University of Wisconsin and in Plant Biotechnology with Glenn Collins at the University of Kentucky. After completing his postdoctoral training, he was offered a faculty position at the University of Georgia where he has risen to the rank of Full Professor.
Wayne is a respected leader with regard to his service to the Society for In Vitro Biology and his service to the profession. He has served the SIVB as the Plant Biotechnology Section Chair (2006-2008) and as a member on the Board of Directors. He has also contributed to the success of our annual In Vitro Biology Meetings by organizing the Legume Transformation Symposium (1996), serving as co-chair for the Plant Program (1998), serving as Chair for the Plant Program (1999), convening the “Transgenes blowing in the wind” Symposium (2003), and serving as Chair for the 2004 World Congress on In Vitro Biology. Wayne also played a critical role in establishing the criteria for the SIVB Young Scientist Award. In addition, he served as Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee on GMO Policy (2000), and as an Editor for the “Points to Ponder” column for the Society newsletter (2002). Dr. Parrot is recognized as a global expert in Plant Biotechnology. He is on the experts List for the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and the International Food Information Council. These lists are made available to reporters looking for an expert to answer questions. He is also a Scientific Advisor for the International Life Sciences Institute, and has served as Chair for the C7 (Genomics and Molecular Biology Section) of the Crop Science Society of America. Wayne also does volunteer work for the USDA-FAS to help train Latin American Journalists and government officials in the issues surrounding biotechnology and its regulation. He also serves on the editorial boards of several journals including: Plant Cell Reports, Crop Science and Plant Cell, and Tissue and Organ Culture.
Dr. Parrot is also recognized for his teaching and research activities. At the University of Georgia he created a new Applied Biotechnology major, and designed and implemented a new M.S. and Ph.D. Program in Plant Breeding, Genetics & Genomics. He teaches graduate courses in Plant Cytogenetics, Honors Seminar in Biotechnology, and Seminar Techniques for Graduate Students, and an undergraduate course in Tropical Agroecology. He also teaches a popular study abroad course in Tropical Agroecology in which he takes students to a tropical location where they get first-hand experience in understanding agroecological concepts. His laboratory conducts research on crop genetic engineering, with a major emphasis on the development of protocols for somatic embryogenesis and genetic transformation of soybean, alfalfa, rice, and maize. He serves as an active research mentor for undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdocs. His research team has published 80 journal articles and 13 book Chapters, and he is currently the Principal Investigator on a National Science Foundation funded grant examining the functional genomics of soybean.
