The John Innes Centre receives strategic funding from BBSRC
The John Innes Centre receives strategic funding from BBSRC
News ReleasesAlison Smith Awarded OBE in Queen’s Birthday Honours19th June 2006 Contact: Her Majesty, the Queen has recognised Professor Alison Smith from the John Innes Centre (JIC) in the 2006 Birthday Honours list. Alison has been awarded an OBE for her services to plant biochemistry. She has worked for the last 20 years at JIC studying how plants make and use starch, and has made major advances in understanding this important carbohydrate. Starch is used as a food store by plants. It is the main component of crops like potatoes and wheat, and is the major carbohydrate in the human diet. It is also used widely in the food industry as a thickening agent, as well as being used in the manufacture of many everyday materials like paper, glue and biodegradable packing materials. Working alongside chemists, physicists and industrial partners across the world, Alison’s team has used the latest genomic technology to understand how genes in the plant are responsible for the properties of starch that make it so valuable as a food and as an industrial material. Alison has been fascinated by science since an early age, encouraged by her parents who were both interested in natural history. “This award is recognition of the huge amount of hard work from my team at JIC, and of the support of my colleagues and collaborators. I feel privileged to be able to work in such a stimulating environment.” Professor Chris Lamb, Director of the John Innes Centre says “I am really delighted by this honour. This is far-reaching research relevant to sustainability and this award acknowledges Alison’s major contributions to the scientific community”. Notes for EditorsPhotographs are available upon request. The John Innes Centre is an independent, world-leading research centre
in plant and microbial sciences with over 800 staff. JIC carries out
high quality fundamental, strategic and applied research to understand
how plants and microbes work at the molecular, cellular and genetic
levels. The JIC also trains scientists and students, collaborates with
many other research laboratories and communicates its science to end-users
and the general public. The JIC is grant-aided by the Biotechnology
and Biological Sciences Research Council. www.jic.ac.uk
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