SIVB Fellow Award

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 Lisa Lee with a Fellow Award at the 2013 Society for In Vitro Biology Meeting in Providence, RI.

Dr. Lisa Lee has been a committed and highly active member of the Society for In Vitro Biology for over 20 years. She has attended every annual meeting, and everyone is always happy to see her at the meetings because of her pleasant personality. She has served as an officer, organized symposia, contributed to the silent auction through the Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, and moderated poster sessions. She assumed responsibility for two important officer positions in the Society, secretary of the Plant Biotechnology Section from 2003-2006 and chair of the Constitution and Bylaws committee from 2008-2010. Her professional service to the Society is a highly valued contribution.

Dr. Lee received her Ph.D. from Purdue University. She was a postdoc in several labs at Purdue which gave her the opportunity to obtain a wide breadth of research experience. In Dr. Park’s lab she did research on the biochemistry and molecular biology of potato tuber proteins. In Dr. Jeff Bennetzen’s lab Lisa worked on maize transposable elements before moving to Dr. Tom Hodge’s lab to work on the regeneration and transformation of Indica rice, and rice anther culture. From Purdue she went to Enimont America, Inc. where she worked on maize transformation and then to Rutgers University where she began her work on turfgrass tissue culture and transformation.

She is most recognized for her significant contributions to turfgrass tissue culture and transformation. Dr. Bob Harriman, Vice President of Biotechnology at Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, has been Lisa’s supervisor for the last 14 years, and he has known her for about 20 years. Dr. Harriman wrote in his nomination letter that “Dr. Lee is one of the most creative, engaging and thoughtful scientists I have ever had the privilege to interact.” Lisa was a pioneer in the field of turfgrass transformation and has remained its leader since the early 1990’s. If it were not for regulatory delays, Lisa would be responsible for the introduction of at least three revolutionary products for the turfgrass industry. The biotech team at Scotts Miracle-Gro was down to 3 members because of the lack of commercialization progress. Lisa was instrumental in helping Scotts to rebuild their biotech program with technology that had freedom to operate because the grass did not contain plant pest elements. With the USDA acknowledgement that Kentucky bluegrass enhanced with non-plant pest components was not regulated, the biotech program got back into a growth mode. The US will soon be able to purchase a lawn that is thicker and greener while requiring less mowing, water and fertilization because of Lisa’s skills and dedication.

In her acceptance speech where she was awarded the position of a fellow of the Society of In Vitro Biology, Lisa said that she liked the Society because its small size gave one the opportunity to meet and know the other members. She encouraged members to not only attend the meetings but to also actively participate in the Society because this is the way one will truly feel like a part of the Society.

Submitted by Kathryn Kamo