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The University Of Arizona College
of Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Researcher of the Year Award: Vick Chandler is extraordinarily active professionally
as a leader in the field of biology, a highly respected faculty citizen
at the University of Arizona and an outstanding teacher of undergraduate
and graduate students, both in and outside the classroom. She joined
the UA Department of Plant Sciences in 1997. Internationally recognized for her genetics research,
Chandler has done pioneering work on gene expression in plants. Currently,
her research focuses on gene regulation using the anthocyanin biosynthic
pathway in maize as a model system. (Anthocyanins are the red/blue/purple
pigments in plants). She has identified previously unknown regulators
of anthocyanin biosynthesis and candidate genes that regulate known
gene transcription factors. She is also using forward and reverse
genetic approaches to identify genes involved in chromatin-level gene
regulation, and to determine how they modulate transposon activity
and gene silencing. Chandler has authored more than 60 scientific papers
in top-rated journals. Her research has been funded by NIH, National
Science Foundation and USDA. She is a major contributor on two multi-investigator
grants totaling over $22 million dollars, and her laboratory has direct
support this year of approximately $1 million dollars. Chandler has served on numerous competitive grant panels.
She was appointed this year to the NSF Biological Directorate Advisory
Committee, serves on the editorial board for Plant Physiology and
Genetics, and is a member of the board of directors for the International
Society of Plant Molecular Biology. She chairs the board of trustees
for the Gordon Research Conferences and is currently president of
the American Society of Plant Biologists Outstanding Staff in Research Award: Georgina Lambert has worked since 1991 in David Galbraith’s
laboratory in the Department of Plant Sciences. She is a valued colleague
who has demonstrated her ability to respect different cultures and
recognize excellence in others. Lambert has a unique combination of
technical, scientific and administrative skills. She really cares
about the University of Arizona, wants this university to be successful
and wants all staff members to contribute to and share in that success.
Lambert is a coauthor on twelve publications since 1994.
Her writing and editorial skills are impressive, and she is a well-organized
individual who pays necessary attention to detail. Her responsibilities with numerous instruments and technologies
in the laboratory include training, operation, maintenance and scheduling
for faculty and staff. Some of the instrumentation includes a BioRad
confocal/multiphoton microscope, a Molecular Dynamics Storm Phosphorimager,
a Partec flow cytometer, a GeneMachines microarrayer, the GSI Lumonics
Microarray Scanner, various robotic laboratory workstations and the
Cytomation MoFlo flow cytometer/cell sorter. She also provides regular seminars and demonstrations
of instrumentation for scheduled classes and for ad hoc visitors.
She has served as member and chair of the College Staff Council, a
founding member of the Staff Development Team and sits on the Quality
Guidance Council. |