Totte Niittylä from UPSC (left), Jenny Hasselgren (second from right) and Fanny Sundelin (right), both from Agrisera, presented the prize to Junko Takahashi-Schmidt (second from right) at the traditional UPSC Christmas lunch (photo: Anne Honsel).
Each year, UPSC honours scientific achievements and contributions to improving the work environment with the UPSC Agrisera Prize. This year, the prize is awarded to Junko Takahashi Schmidt, manager of the Biopolymer Analytical Platform at UPSC. She is recognised for her long-standing commitment to the platform and UPSC during the past 15 years, as well as her dedication to patiently training researchers at all levels.
The Biopolymer Analytical Platform - often referred to internally as the “cell wall lab” - offers a wide range of methods for analysing plant cell walls and biomass. However, the platform would not function without the proficient competence of Junko Takahashi Schmidt. UPSC now acknowledges her efforts to keep the platform running and her commitment to sharing her expertise.
Already during her PhD in Ewa Mellerowicz’s group at UPSC, Junko Takahashi Schmidt focused on plant cell walls and wood formation. After defending her PhD in 2009, she undertook a postdoctoral position in Helsinki. Two years later, she returned to UPSC to join the Biopolymer Analytical Platform, which had been established by Björn Sundberg as part of the Formas-funded project FuncFiber. She initially worked as a lab manager and, a few years later, became platform manager.
Junko Takahashi Schmidt’s contribution has been instrumental in shaping and expanding the platform to meet the evolving needs of UPSC researchers. Today, it serves not only UPSC but also researchers at the Chemical Biological Centre (KBC) in Umeå and internationally. She has maintained and upgraded instruments, developed methods that led to high-ranking scientific publications, and, as noted in the nomination letter, patiently trains researchers at all levels so they can operate instruments and methods independently.
“The Biopolymer Analytical Platform is central to the research of many scientists at UPSC and KBC and we greatly appreciate Junko’s commitment,” says Totte Niittylä, Head of the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology and also responsible scientist for the platform. “Thanks to the UPSC Agrisera Prize, we can recognize such dedication, even though it is always difficult to choose just one among so many deserving colleagues.”
The UPSC Agrisera Prize is awarded annually to acknowledge exceptional scientific achievements and significant contributions to improving the work environment at UPSC. Everyone associated with UPSC is eligible to nominate and to be nominated. Representatives from the different staff categories select the recipient from all nominations and the UPSC leadership announces the awardee during the traditional UPSC Christmas lunch. The prize, sponsored by Agrisera, consists of a diploma and a travel voucher.