Chris J. Leaver facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Chris Leaver
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|---|---|
| Born |
Christopher John Leaver
31 May 1942 |
| Education | Lyme Regis Grammar School |
| Alma mater | Imperial College London (BSc, PhD) |
| Awards | EMBO Membership (1982) Fulbright Scholarship (1966) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry Plant physiology Molecular biology |
| Institutions | |
| Thesis | The correlation between nucleic acid synthesis and induced enzyme activity in plant tissue slices (1966) |
| Doctoral students |
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Christopher John Leaver, born on May 31, 1942, is a famous scientist. He is known for studying plants. He was a professor at the University of Oxford from 1990 to 2007. He worked in the Department of Plant Sciences. Today, he is an Emeritus Professorial Fellow at St John's College, Oxford.
Contents
Education
Chris Leaver went to Lyme Regis Grammar School. He then studied at Imperial College London. There, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1966, he completed his PhD. His PhD was in plant physiology, which is the study of how plants work.
Career and Research
Chris Leaver is an expert in how plants grow and develop. He studies plant biochemistry, which is the chemistry of living things. He also looks at how plants send signals to each other. Before working at Oxford, he was at Purdue University. He also worked at the University of Edinburgh.
Here are some of the jobs he held:
- He was a botanist on expeditions to cold places. These included Spitzbergen in 1962 and Jan Mayen in 1963.
- He was a Fulbright Scholar at Purdue University from 1966 to 1968.
- He became a lecturer at the University of Edinburgh in 1969. He was promoted to Reader in 1980.
- From 1985 to 1990, he was a senior research fellow.
- He became a Professor of Plant Molecular Biology in 1986.
- At the University of Oxford, he was a professor of Plant Science from 1990 to 2007.
- He was also the head of the Plant Sciences department from 1991 to 2007.
- Since 1990, he has been a Fellow of St John's College, Oxford.
- From 2008, he became an Emeritus Professor of Plant Science at Oxford.
Discoveries and Contributions
Chris Leaver made many important discoveries about plants. He was the first to get nucleic acids from plants in 1964. Nucleic acids are like the instruction manuals for cells. He also described how RNA is made in plant cells.
He found a new type of RNA in plant chloroplasts. Chloroplasts are where plants make their food. He also helped develop a system to study plant DNA. This system is still used today.
His work showed how glyoxysomal enzymes are made in cucumber plants. These enzymes help plants grow from seeds. He also did important work on plant Mitochondrial DNA. This is the DNA found in mitochondria, which are like the powerhouses of cells.
He was the first to get plant mitochondrial ribosomes. Ribosomes are tiny factories that make proteins. He also showed how proteins are made in plant mitochondria. His research helped link a plant trait called cytoplasmic male sterility to changes in mitochondrial DNA. This trait is important for growing crops like maize (corn) and sorghum.
Awards and Honours
Chris Leaver has received many awards for his work.
- In 1986, he was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honour for scientists.
- He became a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) in 1982.
- In 1989, he was elected to the Academia Europaea.
- He was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 2000. This is an honour given by the British monarch.
Personal Life
Chris Leaver enjoys walking and talking. He likes to do this in Upper Coquetdale. This is a beautiful area in Northumberland, England.
