CENTER RESEARCHER NAMED TO OLDEST ACADEMY OF SCIENCE IN THE WORLD
What do Marie Curie, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein have in common with Center Principal Investigator Dr. Toni Kutchan? They have all been named members of the prestigious German Academy of Science, known as the Leopoldina. This highly exclusive group has only had approximately 7,000 members in its more than 350 years of existence.
Dr. Toni Kutchan
Founded in 1652, the Leopoldina is the oldest continuously existing academy of natural sciences and medicine in the world. New candidates are proposed by academy members and elected by the presidium in a multi-stage selection process. Today more than a quarter of its new members come from outside Germany. In 2007 it was officially declared the national academy of Germany, putting it on par with Britain’s Royal Society and the United States’ National Academy of Science.
Though Kutchan is far from hanging up her lab coat, her entrance into the academy serves as recognition of career achievement. “It made my summer and of course it’s an incredible honor,” said Dr. Kutchan. “The list of names that have been members of this academy is truly amazing.”
FOUNDED IN 1652, THE
LEOPOLDINA IS THE OLDEST CONTINUOUSLY EXISTING ACADEMY OF NATURAL
SCIENCES AND MEDICINE IN THE WORLD.
Dr. Kutchan has already received numerous honors, including being named the Langenberg Distinguished Principal Investigator at the Danforth Center. She is also a member of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences, which is another well-respected scientific academy in Germany.
Though born in the U.S., Kutchan spent 20 years researching biochemistry at the University of Munich and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry in Germany, where she served as Department Head from 1999-2006. She also acted as Managing Director of the Institute from 2004-2005. She returned to the U.S. in 2006 to join the Danforth Center.
Dr. Kutchan’s husband and fellow researcher at the Danforth Center, Dr. Meinhart Zenk, is also a member of the Leopoldina, having received the distinction in 1983.
About Dr. Kutchan’s Research:
Dr. Kutchan is a world expert on the opiate pathway found in poppies, one of mankind’s oldest medicinal plants. It is the commercial source of the powerful painkiller morphine, from which a variety of analgesics, such as codeine, are derived. One of Kutchan’s goals is to develop poppy strains with improved drug production for medicinal use around the world.
Kutchan is also working to metabolically optimize the production of medicinal compounds in a variety of other plants. If successful, her research could significantly reduce the cost of a number of desperately needed medications for conditions such as chronic pain and cancer.
8 2010 Annual Report
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36