The North Carolina Biotechnology Center was sadden to take that Philip Benfey , Ph.D. , an inspiring and pioneering plant geneticist and entrepreneur , pass by on Sept. 26 at the age of 70 . Benfey was the Paul Kramer prof of biota at Duke University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute ( HHMI ) police detective .
Using the root of the Arabidopsis flora , Benfey advanced our understanding of how cadre translate from comparatively undifferentiated stem cells to fully differentiated tissues . One of his primal donation was the breakthrough and characterization of the SARECROW and SHORTROOT cistron , which encode written text broker that assist form plant radical autonomously and non - autonomously .
" Benfey understood how innovative idea could forget the university , which result in his founding three startup , " state Paul Ulanch , Ph.D. , MBA , senior director of focussed initiatives at NCBiotech . " He was a very abrupt scientist , unforced to challenge ideas and question new findings , but at the same time , he was humble and wanted to hear other ’s opinions . "
Benfey ’s groundbreaking ceremony piece of work was recognized with several honors and appointments . He was an American Association for the Advancement of Science lad , US National Academy of Sciences appendage , and receive several cellular inclusion in the one-year Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Researchers lean , which name researchers whose published written document rank in the top 1 % of citations for their field and class of publication .
Philip Benfey , in 2002 . -Photo by Jim Wallace
Moving plant life biology forwardJeff Dangl , Ph.D. , HHMI investigator and John N. Couch Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , foregather Benfey in the early 1990s when Benfey was a unseasoned assistant professor at Rockefeller University in New York City , and Dangl was at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Biology in Germany .
" We became friends and colleagues , " say Dangl . " It was the early days of the Arabidopsis Genome Initiative and the deployment of Arabidopsis as a computer address species for all of plant biology . Our path crossed at conference and at the National Science Foundation , where we meet as members of various study groups graph a new itinerary for plant scientific discipline . "
After the Sept. 11 attack , Benfey and his wife Elizabeth decided to allow NYC . Dangl strongly urge Benfey to science administrator at Duke University , who were looking for a new biology chair .
" Philip ’s impact on the biologic sciences at Duke over the last 20 old age is very important , " Dangl explicate . " He was chair at a difficult time in the department ’s history ; he was the drive force and director of the Duke Center for Systems Biology ; and he led the mode in the design and building of the French Family Science Center . "
Dangl describes Benfey as an inspiring and effective speaker and writer . " He could deliver fantastic and piquant talking to , and he could joint his imaginativeness of works scientific discipline , " he read . " An important part of Philip ’s magic was his power to define new , leading edge in plant developmental biology , modernize a design to call them , and move very skilled young scientists to participate in the adventure of find with him . "
One of the scientists Benfey inspired was Lucia Strader , Ph.D. , a professor at Duke . " Philip and Xinnian Dong were instrumental in enter me to Duke , " she enounce . " After I motivate my lab to Duke in July 2020 , Philip went above and beyond by ensure that I was introduced to various entities at Duke and by format plant staff tiffin to aid reconstruct this community of interests after COVID confinement lifted . "
With Benfey , Strader co - launch the Climate - Plant Innovation web , a collective of regional partnership focus on solving major challenges associated with clime alteration and its effect on harvest and food using interdisciplinary enquiry . " His inscrutable connections throughout the region were a accelerator for take form a cohesive group , driven by his power to promote a horse sense of unity among group members , " aver Strader .
The Climate - Plant Innovation internet resulted in a collaborative effort led by North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to bow an NSF Regional Innovation Engines ( NSF Engines ) syllabus proposal to establish a North Carolina agricultural innovation corridor . This marriage offer is currently under limited review .
bend research into innovational technologyBenfey had a strong entrepreneurial spirit and understood the importance of translating his scientific discovery into practical covering that could help the agriculture industry in a variety of ways . In 2007 , he co - founded the inauguration Grassroots Biotechnology based on the RootArray microfluidics equipment his science laboratory develop to visualize gene verbal expression in dozens of roots in real - meter . Just five years after its founding , Grassroots Biotechnology was acquired by Monsanto . He later launched another agricultural biotech ship’s company , Hi Fidelity Genetics , which use data science , innovative sensors , and enceinte - scale DNA sequencing to optimize crop root ontogeny to increase yield .
One of Benfey ’s most late achievements was the development of single - cubicle cistron expression analysis , which illuminated the lineal liaison between developmental subnetworks and cell expression of gene . In February 2023 , this discovery became the footing of Raleigh Biosciences , which he co - establish with Ross Sozzani , Ph.D. , prof at North Carolina State University . The venture is operate to advance sustainable food production by providing exact control over trait expression , a critical aspect for enhancing both individual plants and the broader agricultural ecosystem .
Sozzani first meet Benfey in 2006 as a inspect grad student searching for a postdoctoral position in a plant research lab pore on systems biology . She wreak in his laboratory as a postdoctoral scholar for five years before embarking on her own inquiry endeavors . " Philip became a mentor for biography , always just a call or a short drive away , " she said . " He shared that he often adopted a ' Why not ? ' mentality instead of defaulting to a simple ' No . ' This position has been a worthful example that I still carry with me . "
Benfey was a true pioneer in embracing new technology and repel instauration , harmonise to Sozzani . " His findings bridged the gap between fundamental science and its practical applications in crop , " she say . " His commitment to his family line — his wife , Elisabeth , and their two sons , Sam and Julian — was always palpable . In essence , Philip was not only an innovator and brilliant brain but also a fantastic wise man who left an indelible scar on those fortunate enough to find out from him . "
Source : ncbiotech.org
