UPSC-Professor appointed Forest Biotechnologist of the Year

Stefan Jansson is the seventh scientist, and the first Swede, to win this award.

“It feels great to be given this award!”, says Stefan Jansson, Professor at Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) at the Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University.

Stefan Jansson was nominated because of his ground-breaking work on the use of gene editing tools (CRISPR) in plants that pushes the boundaries of forest biosciences while forcing much needed dialogue around the classification of what constitutes a genetically modified (GM) plant in Europe and around the world.

Michele Garfinkel, Vice Chair of the Institute of Forest Biosciences Board (IFB), notes, “Dr. Jansson is an excellent choice for Forest Biotechnologist of the Year. He works in a dynamic area of research using an important emerging technology that allows for extremely rapid advancements in understanding and application of knowledge in genomics and related areas. His further contributions to public audiences and to the scientific community have been invaluable.”

Stefan Jansson’s scientific career has been highlighted by several foundational efforts in forest biotechnology. He was involved in the sequencing of the first tree genome (Populus) and has been leading the work to sequence the first conifer genome (Norway spruce). His group has developed tools and databases used widely by the forest genomics and biotechnology community, and he is responsible for a large fraction of the field experiments with transgenic trees in Europe. He is vice-director of the world-leading UPSC Berzelii Centre of Forest Biotechnology, is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) and has published over 120 scientific articles.

Full text: www.teknat.umu.se/

Text: Adam Costanza