White House award for Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, plant sciences professor

White House award for Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, plant sciences professor
November 9, 2010

Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, an assistant professor and plant genetics expert in the Department of Plant Sciences, was among 85 researchers chosen by President Barack Obama to receive the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the nation's highest honor for professionals in the early stages of their scientific research careers. He will receive the award during a White House ceremony.

"I am quite humbled to be receiving such an honor in only my second year at UC Davis,” said Ross-Ibarra.

He was nominated for the award by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a research project that uses a novel approach, based on population genetics, to identify genes that would be useful in improving varieties of maize, also known as corn.

In this research project, Ross-Ibarra and his team plan to identify the genotype, or genetic profile, of 60,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms. These are genetic variations that occur when just a single nucleotide or building block in the DNA sequence differs.

As part of its nomination, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide Ross-Ibarra's project with $150,000 in annual support for three years.

Ross-Ibarra's research program deals with the evolutionary genetics of adaptation in plants, with a particular focus on the study of plant domestication and the evolution of crop plants. His laboratory uses maize as a model crop for these studies.

"Much of this work uses population genetic modeling to investigate the importance of natural selection, gene flow and demographic history in patterning diversity and divergence in the maize genome," he said.

In addition to work on identifying genes important for maize domestication and improvement, Ross-Ibarra's lab is currently collaborating on a number of projects, including work on chromosome evolution and studies of natural populations of the wild ancestor of maize in Mexico.

Ross-Ibarra's nomination from the U.S. Department of Agriculture noted that the plant geneticist has "an excellent track record of productivity ... and professional service." It added that, by focusing on maize, one of the most important crops for the U.S. economy, and on techniques that can be used with other important cereal crops, Ross-Ibarra's research will help "promote sustainability of U.S. agriculture and international food security, while enhancing the environment by reducing pressure on cultivatable land resources."

Ross-Ibarra and colleagues also are working to facilitate international scientific exchange through a program that will bring students from Mexico to work in U.S. laboratories, where they will study chromosome biology in maize. The exchange program is part of a research project, funded by the National Science Foundation, that focuses on completing the sequence and assembly of maize centromeres, the central region of chromosomes.

After earning his doctoral degree in genetics from the University of Georgia in 2006, Ross-Ibarra completed his postdoctoral research at UC Irvine. He also received a master's degree in botany in 2000 and a bachelor's degree in botany in 1998, both from UC Riverside. He joined the UC Davis faculty in 2009.

Also receiving the award is Ilke Arslan, an assistant professor and chemical engineer in the UC Davis Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science.

About the award

Established in 1996, the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers at the beginning of their careers. The awards are conferred annually at the White House, following recommendations from nine participating agencies.

Other UC Davis faculty who have received the award previously include: William DeBello, professor of neurobiology, physiology and behavior, Center for Neuroscience; Valerie Eviner, assistant professor of plant sciences; Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi; Tonya Kuhl, professor of chemical engineering and materials science; Kwan-Liu Ma, professor of computer science; Zhongli Pan, associate adjunct professor of biological and agricultural engineering; Naoki Saito, professor of mathematics; and W. Martin Usrey, associate professor, neurobiology, physiology and behavior, Center for Neuroscience.

Media contact(s):
* Jeffrey Ross-Ibarra, Department of Plant Sciences, (530) 752-1152, rossibarra@ucdavis.edu
* Pat Bailey, UC Davis News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu