This year, Simon Stael from the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology was elected as one of the 27 Wallenberg Academy Fellows. This funding allows Simon to start his own research group in Sweden. During the next five years, he will dig into the healing mechanisms of plants after wounding.
Investing in young researchers to make Sweden flourish
The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation is a private financing body established in 1917 with the aim to support basic research and education for the benefit of Sweden. To do so, the foundation provides long-term funding for scientific research in the field of medicine, engineering and technology, natural sciences, humanities, and social sciences. To encourage researchers to pursue an academic career, the foundation started the Wallenberg Academy Fellows program in 2012. In partnership with the royal academies and 16 Swedish Universities, the program invests in early career researchers from Sweden or abroad, to continue their research in a Swedish academic institute for the next 5 years. During those 5 years, the fellows can develop expertise in their field of interest and participate in a mentoring program that will help them to mature as researchers and grow leadership skills.
Patching up the wound
As a Wallenberg Academy Fellow, Simon Stael will be hosted by the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala where he will study the mechanisms used by plants to heal their wounds. As opposed to motile organisms, plants must withstand all kinds of environmental challenges such as harsh weather conditions, herbivores, and pests. An appropriate response is crucial for a plant’s survival. In his previous research projects, Simon found that a specific family of proteases, enzymes that break down proteins, play an important role in signaling when thale cress gets damaged. During his fellowship as an independent researcher, he will investigate if this protease-dependent signaling mechanism is conserved in other plants, going from mosses over spruces, to wheat. Understanding how these proteases are activated and subsequently regulate the signaling and repair pathway will be instrumental to enhance crop protection for sustainable agriculture and forestry. Simon Stael: “Damage-activated proteolysis in plant wounding response is uncharted territory with an enormous potential for new fundamental discoveries. I envision that this knowledge could lead to a more selective and sustainable use of pesticides.”
- Log in to post comments