NEWS Last week, the Scandinavian Plant Physiology Society (SPPS) announced that Stefan Jansson will receive the SPPS Prize. He is awarded for his outstanding contributions to plant biology research, to the development of the research community especially in the Nordic countries and his efforts in public outreach. The prize will be officially handed over to Stefan Jansson at the SPPS 2024 conference in Copenhagen in August this year.
Stefan Jansson framför asp på Umeå campus
Image Fredrik LarssonIt is now more than twenty years ago that Stefan Jansson became Professor in Plant Cell and Molecular Biology at Umeå University and more than thirty years ago that he defended his PhD thesis at the same university. During this time, he together with his group at Umeå Plant Science Centre has investigated how plants capture sunlight and how trees sense autumn and survive winter. They have made several ground-breaking discoveries and published many high impact research articles which is one point highlighted in the motivation for the SPPS Prize.
The motivation emphasises also Stefan Jansson’s engagement in public outreach which was rewarded already earlier with several prizes. Several years ago, he decided to set aside one day per week for outreach activities and he has used this time to explain plant science to various audiences. He has been especially active in the debate about genetically modified organisms and plant genome editing, was present in different media formats and has written many debate articles.
Stefan Jansson has been several years head of the department for the UPSC department that belongs to Umeå University but has also taken over several commissions of trust. He has been for example president for The Federation of European Societies of Plant Biology and for SPPS and “has sparked the society to become a more active and engaged community” according to the motivation from SPPS. Stefan Jansson is also elected fellow of three Royal Swedish Academies and contributes in this role to promote science and associated activities for the benefit of society.
“It is indeed an honour to become one in the line of recipients of this prize,” says Stefan Jansson who is after Karin Ljung in 2019 and Gunnar Öquist in 2015 the third research from UPSC receiving the SPPS Prize.
More information about the SPPS Prize and other prizes awarded by SPPS