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2011 $25,000 Distinguished Agriscience Scientist Award Recipients

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and the American Farm Bureau Federation are honored to have awarded the achievements of the 2011 $25,000 Distinguished Agriscience Scientist's Award Columbus Scholar:

Randall Prather, Ph.D.

Randall Prather, Ph.D.

Distinguished Professor of Reproductive Biotechnology
Division of Animal Science
The University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri

Since 1982, Dr. Prather�s research has focused on the early mammalian embryo. While at University of Wisconsin-Madison he cloned the first pigs, and some of the first cattle, by nuclear transfer.

His group at the University of Missouri created miniature pigs that have the alpha 1,3 galactosyltransferase gene knocked out, thus paving the way for xenotransplantation; and have developed pigs that have cystic fibrosis, thus providing the first whole animal model that can be used to study the disease. His lab has made over 495 cloned pigs at MU representing over 25 different genetic modifications for agriculture and medicine.

Dr. Prather is a co-Director of the NIH-funded National Swine Resource and Research Center. In addition to his transgenic pig research, he and his collaborators have identified newly described genes in the reproductive tissues of pigs and cattle that will help develop an understanding of the pattern of gene expression to reduce the 30 percent loss of pregnancies that occurs in mammals. He has helped to secure over $81 million in research funding, and has over 240 peer-reviewed publications and 103,000 GeneBank submissions.

He earned his BS and MS from Kansas State University, and Ph.D. and Postdoc from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and the American Farm Bureau Federation are honored to have awarded the achievements of the 2011 $25,000 Distinguished Agriscience Scientist's Award Columbus Scholar:

Andrew H. Paterson, Ph.D.

Andrew H. Paterson, Ph.D.

Distinguished Research Professor
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

Andrew H. Paterson, Ph.D. is a Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Georgia, jointly appointed in three Departments (Crop and Soil Science, Plant Biology, and Genetics), and the head of the Plant Genome Mapping Laboratory. Dr. Paterson�s research uses genomic tools and approaches to study crop improvement, plant biodiversity, and molecular evolution. His lab has contributed to knowledge of sorghum, cotton, sugarcane, peanut, Miscanthus, switchgrass, Bermuda grass, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, rice, tomato, maize and other crops, as well as several major weeds, one nitrogen-fixing bacterium (Azospirillum), and a group of viruses important in poultry.

Dr. Paterson is a member of the American Society for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and became an AAAS Fellow in 1998. His contributions and research in agricultural genomics, plant sciences, and genetics and evolutionary biology, have resulted in national and international recognition. His 250+ scientific publications and four books have elucidated fundamental principles of plant biology and their application to improving food, feed, fiber and biomass crops. He has served on editorial boards of nine professional journals and serves in several national and international research initiatives.

Dr. Paterson received his B.S. (Summa Cum Laude, 1982) in agriculture from the University of Delaware, and his M.S. (1986) in plant breeding and Ph.D. (1988) in plant genetics from Cornell University. From 1989-1991 he was employed by the E.U. DuPont Company in agricultural biotechnology. He joined the Texas A&M University faculty in 1991. He moved to the University of Georgia in 1999, and became a Distinguished Research Professor in 2002 and his unit was made a department in 2008. He has been a member of the Georgia Farm Bureau since moving to the State in 1999, and was a member of the Texas Farm Bureau from 1992-1998.

 

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is honored to have had the assistance of the following distinguished individuals serving on the 2011 Agriscience Awards Evaluation Committee:
  • MeeCee Baker, Ph.D.
    Partner, Chief Operating Officer
    Versant Strategies
    Harrisburg, PA

  • Gary Matteson
    The Farm Credit Council
    VP Young, Beginning, Small Farmer
    Programs and Outreach
    Washington, D.C.

  • Meghan Mueseler
    Cargill, Inc.
    Wichita, KS

  • Kevin Paap
    President
    Minnesota Farm Bureau
    Minneapolis, MN

  • Robert W. Clark, Ph.D.
    Professional Personnel Development Center
    Workforce Education & Development Program
    Penn State University
    University Park, PA