The Maize Genetics Cooperator Award recognizes maize cooperators who have dedicated their careers to service by supporting community resources, organizing collaborative efforts, or enabling maize research.
Caroline Marcon and Frank Hochholdinger have been recognized together with Karen Koch and Don McCarty from the University of Florida for their development of “important reverse genetics resources that have significantly advanced our understanding of maize development and adaptation”. The awards committee stated: “These groups are recognized for their transformative contributions. Their innovative work in creating these libraries has revolutionized gene discovery and our understanding of gene function in maize, providing an indispensable resource that has empowered researchers to rapidly identify, characterize, and map genes. Their tools have been fundamental to numerous breakthroughs in maize genetics and their commitment to making these resources widely accessible has had a lasting, global impact”.
