For Immediate Release

Contact:
Brian Hyps bhyps@aspb.org / 301.251.0560 ext 114 / 240.354.5160 (c)
Katie Engen katie@aspb.org / 301.251.0560 ext 116

University of Arizona's Richard A. Jorgensen Wins 2007 Gibbs Award from American Society of Plant Biologists
Rockville, MD. (August 28, 2007) - The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) is pleased to announce recipients of its 2007 Martin Gibbs Medal. This award was presented at the society's annual meeting that was held jointly with the Botanical Society of America as well as the American Fern Society and the American Society of Plant Taxonomists July 7-11, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois.
The Martin Gibbs Medal was instituted by the Society's executive committee in 1993 to honor Martin Gibbs, editor of Plant Physiology from 1963 to 1993. The Gibbs Medal is presented biennially to an individual who has pioneered advances that have served to establish new directions of investigation in the plant sciences. The winner receives the medal and is invited to convene a Martin Gibbs Medal Symposium at the annual meeting the following year. Richard A. Jorgensen, University of Arizona, has been awarded the 2007 Martin Gibbs Medal for his pioneering work leading to the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi). A full description of the winner's work along with a photo can be found at www.aspb.org.

Founded in 1924, ASPB (formerly known as the American Society of Plant Physiologists), is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland. This professional society has a membership of approximately 5,000 plant scientists from the United States and more than 50 other nations. ASPB publishes two of the most widely cited plant science journals in the world, Plant Cell and Plant Physiology.