Doctoral Student Gann Wins Henry Daniell International Scholar Award

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(Left) Peter James Gann, doctoral student, cell and molecular biology; (Middle) Maria Clara Chaves, master's student; crop, soil and environmental sciences; (Left) Dominic Dharwadker, undergraduate student, honors biochemistry.

Peter James Gann of the Cell and Molecular Biology (CEMB) Program won the Henry Daniell International Scholar Award (HD-ISA) from the American Society of Plant Biologists-Southern Section (ASPB-SS). Gann received the award during the ASPB-SS annual meeting banquet held on March 28, 2022, in Birmingham, Alabama.

The HD-ISA is one-time, competitive and merit-based award that recognizes an international outstanding graduate plant biologist. Gann was selected for demonstrating the ability to make a positive contribution to plant biology, which is shown by his scientific research publications, previous awards, presentations and assumed leadership in the field.

Gann is a Fulbright scholar from the Philippines who started his graduate study at the U of A in 2018. His research is focused on understanding the cellular, molecular and biochemical mechanisms in grain-filling, germination and growth in rice through gene editing approach. Portions of his work has been published, presented in conferences and awarded by scientific societies. He is advised by Vibha Srivastava of the Department of Crop, Soils and Environmental Sciences (CSES).

In addition to the HD-ISA, Gann was also selected for the Student Travel Award that supported his participation to present his paper, "Targeted Mutagenesis of Vacuolar H+ Translocating Pyrophosphatase (V-PPase) GATA Promoter by CRISPR/Cas9 Reduces Chalkiness in Rice," in the ASPB-SS annual meeting. Two other students from the Srivastava laboratory also presented their research projects in the meeting: Dominic Dharwadker, an undergraduate student in honors biochemistry, and Maria Clara Chaves, a master's student in CSES.

About ASPB: ASPB is a 501(c)(3) professional society devoted to advancing plant science research and education. It publishes three world-class journals and organizes conferences and other educational activities that are key to the advancement of the science. The Southern Section includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.