Richard Dixon (biologist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Richard Dixon
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Dixon in 2018
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| Alma mater | University of Oxford |
| Awards | Member of the National Academy of Sciences |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | University of North Texas Texas A&M University University of Cambridge Royal Holloway College |
| Thesis | Phytoalexin production by plant tissue cultures (1976) |
Richard A. Dixon is a scientist from Britain who studies living things, especially plants. He is a special professor at the University of North Texas and also works at Texas A&M University.
Education and Early Studies
Richard Dixon went to the University of Oxford in England. He studied Biochemistry, which is about the chemistry of living things. In 1973, he earned his first degree. Then, in 1976, he got his PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) degree. For his PhD, he studied how plants make special chemicals called Phytoalexins. He did this using plant tissue cultures, which means growing plant cells in a lab.
Career and Plant Research
After getting his PhD, Dixon worked as a researcher at the University of Cambridge. Later, he started his own research team at Royal Holloway College in London. From 1998 to 2013, he led the Plant Biology Division at the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. This foundation is located in Ardmore, Oklahoma.
For more than 30 years, Richard Dixon has been a top expert in how plants make special chemicals. He uses many different science methods to understand these processes. His work helps explain how plants create substances like lignin and useful flavonoids. Lignin helps make plants strong, and flavonoids are good for health.
He also works on something called metabolic engineering. This involves changing plants to make them better. For example, he helps create more nutritious plants for animals to eat. He also works on plants that can be used for bioenergy, like fuels. His research papers have been used as references by other scientists over 66,000 times.
Since January 1, 2023, he has been the main editor for a science journal. This journal is called Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. He is also on the editorial board for PNAS, another important science journal.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Richard Dixon has received many important awards for his work. He was chosen as a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in the United States. This is a very high honor for scientists.
He is also a Fellow of several other important groups:
- The American Association for the Advancement of Science
- The National Academy of Inventors
- The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB)
In 2018, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is one of the oldest and most respected science academies in the world. The American Society of Plant Biologists also recognized him as a Pioneer Member.
