German research award for Massey scientist

MASSEY UNIVERSITY PRESS RELEASE

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

German research award for Massey scientist

Massey University Professor of Molecular Genetics Barry Scott has been awarded a Humboldt Research Award, worth around $100,000, by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany.

Each year the foundation grants research awards to internationally renowned academics from outside Germany, in recognition of their research achievements to date. “This award is granted to academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting edge achievements in the future,” the Foundation states.

Much of Professor Scott’s work has helped the advancement of New Zealand’s agricultural sector, including his world-leading research into how an endophyte fungus protects ryegrass from drought, disease and insects.

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation aims to “bring the knowledge of the world to Germany” and has invited Professor Scott to spend six months working on a research project of his choice with German scientists.

Professor Scott says he plans to travel to Germany to advance his research on fungal-plant symbiosis. “One of the huge benefits of the award will be the opportunity to interact with several world class groups working on related research and to be able to access some of the best research facilities in the world,” Scott says.

Professor Scott will be hosted by Dr Regine Kahmann from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, but will collaborate with scientists from Göttingen University, Freiburg University, Münster University and the Braunschweig University of Technology.

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