David Baulcombe facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sir David Baulcombe
FRS FMedSci
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David Charles Baulcombe
7 April 1952 Solihull, England
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| Nationality | British |
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| Spouse(s) | Rose Eden (m. 1976) |
| Children | 1 son, 3 daughters |
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| Thesis | The Processing and Intracellular Transport of Messenger RNA in a Higher Plant (1976) |
| Doctoral advisor | John Ingle |
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Sir David Charles Baulcombe, born on April 7, 1952, is a famous British plant scientist. He is also a geneticist, someone who studies genes. As of October 2024, he leads a research group at the University of Cambridge. He is also a special professor there, focusing on plant science. From 2007 to 2020, he held a very important position called the Regius Professor of Botany at Cambridge.
Contents
Early Life and Education
David Baulcombe was born in Solihull, England, on April 7, 1952. His family was not involved in science.
He went to the University of Leeds and earned a degree in botany in 1973. Botany is the study of plants. He then continued his studies at the University of Edinburgh. In 1976, he earned his PhD. His research was about how plants make and use Messenger RNA, which carries genetic instructions.
Career in Science
After getting his PhD, David Baulcombe worked as a researcher in North America. He spent time at McGill University in Canada and the University of Georgia in the United States.
In 1980, he returned to the United Kingdom. He started his own research team at the Plant Breeding Institute in Cambridge. Later, in 1988, he moved to the Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich. He was a senior scientist there and even led the lab for several years.
He became a professor at the University of East Anglia in 1998. In 2007, he moved back to the University of Cambridge. There, he became the Professor of Botany. This special role was renamed "Regius Professor of Botany" in 2009. He retired from this position in 2020.
Sir David also serves on many important science committees. He was president of the International Society of Plant Molecular Biology from 2003 to 2004.
Amazing Plant Research
Sir David Baulcombe's research has greatly helped us understand plants. He studies how plants fight off diseases and how their genes are controlled. His work has changed how we discover new things in plant biology.
One of his biggest discoveries was about gene silencing. This is a natural process where cells turn off certain genes. In 1998, other scientists found out how this works in tiny worms. Sir David then found a special molecule in plants called small interfering RNA. This molecule helps plants turn off genes.
His team showed that viruses can make plants turn off genes. They also found that some viruses have ways to stop this gene silencing. This is like a battle between the plant and the virus. His work helped us understand how plants defend themselves.
Sir David and his team also found out how important small interfering RNA is for epigenetics. Epigenetics is about how genes are controlled without changing the DNA itself. This research helps us understand how plants grow and respond to their environment.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Sir David Baulcombe has received many important awards for his work.
In 2009, Queen Elizabeth II made him a Knight Bachelor. This means he can use "Sir" before his name. He received this honor for his great contributions to plant science.
Some of his other major awards include:
- 1997: Became a member of EMBO Membership, a group of top scientists.
- 2001: Elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society, a very old and respected science academy.
- 2003: Received the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences.
- 2006: Awarded the Royal Medal by the Royal Society. This was for his discoveries that help all areas of biology and medicine.
- 2008: Received the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research. This is one of the most important medical research awards.
- 2010: Won the Wolf Prize in Agriculture. This was for his discoveries about how small RNA molecules control genes in plants. This work is important for farming and all of biology.
- 2012: Received the Balzan Prize for his work in Epigenetics.
- 2014: Received the first-ever Barbara McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics. This was for his amazing work in plant epigenetics.
Personal Life
Sir David Baulcombe is married to Rose Eden, and they have four children. He enjoys music, sailing, and walking in the hills.
He is very interested in using plant biotechnology to improve crops. This means using science to make plants better. He especially wants to help solve problems in developing countries. He says he works on plants because they give us food, clothes, and paper. He also finds them great for understanding general biology.
