Source(s):
Donald McCarty (352) 392-1928 ext. 322

GAINESVILLE—Elliott Meyerowitz, professor and chairman of the biology department at California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, will be speak on “Plants, Animals and the Evolution of Development” on Sept. 27 at 4:00 pm in Ballroom A of the University of Florida’s new Doubletree Hotel and Conference Center. The lecture is free and open to the public.

His presentation is the first in the F.A. Wood Distinguished Lecture series, established in honor of the late dean for research at the UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Wood served as dean for research from 1978 to 1985. The series is sponsored by the office of the UF vice president for agriculture and natural resources and the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Program.

“Meyerowitz is world renown for his contributions to the fields of plant and animal developmental genetics,” said Donald McCarty, professor in the UF’s horticultural sciences department. “He has a unique perspective on the comparative evolution of developmental mechanisms.”

Elliot also is “very approachable,” McCarty said. “Students and postdocs should not pass up this opportunity to interact with one of the eminent scientists of our time.”

Meyerowitz has made key contributions to developmental genetics of plants as well as animals (Drosophila). His recent interests have focused on using Arabidopsis thaliana as a model for studying the origin of developmental patterns in flowers, the control of cell division in plant meristems, and the mechanisms of plant hormone action.

Among his many contributions, Meyerowitz is a principal author of the highly successful “ABC” model that describes the genetic determination of floral organ identity in plants.

-30-

0