Winslow Briggs Explained

Winslow R. Briggs
Birth Date:29 April 1928
Birth Place:Saint Paul, Minnesota
Death Place:Stanford, California
Nationality:American
Field:Plant biology
Known For:Phototropism
Awards:International Prize for Biology
Guggenheim fellowship
Spouse:Ann Morrill

Winslow Russell Briggs (April 29, 1928 – February 11, 2019) was an American plant biologist who introduced techniques from molecular biology to the field of plant biology. Briggs was an international leader in molecular biological research on plant sensing, in particular how plants respond to light for growth and development and the understanding of both red and blue-light photoreceptor systems in plants.[1] His work has made substantial contributions to plant science, agriculture and ecology.

Briggs served as President of the American Institute of Biological Sciences in 1981. He was the editor of the Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology (later the Annual Review of Plant Biology) from 1973 to 1993.[2] [3] [4]

Education

Briggs graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1951, a Master of Arts in 1952, and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1956.

Career

Between 1955 and 1967, Briggs was an instructor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University and successively became an assistant professor in 1957. In 1962 he was promoted to associate professor and became a professor in 1966. In 1967 he moved to Harvard University as a professor in the Department of Biology.

In 1973 he returned to Department of Biological Sciences at Stanford University as a professor and as a Director of the Department of Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution for Science. From 1993 until his death in 2019, he continued to do research as a director emeritus in the Department of Plant Biology at Carnegie Institution for Science.

In addition to memberships in the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), Briggs was a member of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (President in 1981),[5] the American Society of Plant Physiologists (chairman 1975-1976), the Botanical Society of America,the Nature Conservancy,and the American Society for Photobiology.

Research

Briggs conducted research on the physiology and biochemistry in the development of plants in response to light. He made major contributions to understanding the biochemical and physical characteristics of photoreceptors of plants. He demonstrated through experiments that the phototropic bending of plant stems to follow a light source has its basis in the transport of auxin. He identified and studied both the red and far-red lightphotoreceptors of plants and the blue light receptor thatmediates phototropism. Using thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) Briggs was able to clone the gene for phototropin.[5] [6] [7]

According to ISIHighlyCited, Briggs is one of the most cited scientists in the field of botany and zoology. Briggs was (co-) author of articles in journals such as American Journal of Botany, Nature, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Science and Scientific American.[8] Along with John L. Spudich he was editor of the Handbook of Photosensory Receptors (2005). [9]

He was an avid mountaineer and had scaled several prominent peaks.[10] He was a volunteer at Henry W. Coe State Park for 40 years. He organized volunteers in 2007 to study the park's recovery from a wildfire, and discovered that the smoke contained chemicals that helped to stimulate the sprouting of seeds of rare plants that lie dormant and return after a fire.

Briggs died on February 11, 2019, at Stanford Medical Center at the age of 90.[11] [12]

Awards and honors

Briggs received many honors during his career.

Briggs has been recognized as a Pioneer Member of the American Society of Plant Biologists. [26]

Notes and References

  1. Briggs . Winslow R. . Huala . Eva . Blue-Light Photoreceptors in Higher Plants . Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology . November 1999 . 15 . 1 . 33–62 . 10.1146/annurev.cellbio.15.1.33 . 10611956 . 11 October 2021.
  2. 1981 . Winslow R.. Briggs . Preface by Winslow R. Briggs. Annual Review of Plant Physiology. en. 32. 1. annurev.pp.32.101804.100001. 10.1146/annurev.pp.32.101804.100001. 0066-4294.
  3. 1972. Leonard . Machlis . Preface by Leonard Machlis. Annual Review of Plant Physiology. en. 23. 1. annurev.pp.23.100504.100001. 10.1146/annurev.pp.23.100504.100001. 0066-4294.
  4. Jones. Russell L.. 1994. Preface by the Editor. Annual Review of Plant Physiology and Plant Molecular Biology. en. 45. 1. annurev.pp.45.101804.100001. 10.1146/annurev.pp.45.101804.100001. 1040-2519.
  5. In Memory of Winslow Briggs, a Luminary Who Shed Light on Plants and Enlightened People . Molecular Plant . April 2019 . 12 . April . 461–463 . 10.1016/j.molp.2019.02.007 . 243026180 . 11 October 2021.
  6. Kutschera . Ulrich . Wang . Zhi-Yong . Light and plant development: the discovery of phototropins by Winslow R. Briggs (1928–2019) . Plant Signaling & Behavior . 3 October 2019 . 14 . 10 . e1652521 . 10.1080/15592324.2019.1652521 . 31434535 . 6768212 .
  7. Kutschera . Ulrich . Briggs . Winslow R. . Root phototropism: from dogma to the mechanism of blue light perception . Planta . March 2012 . 235 . 3 . 443–452 . 10.1007/s00425-012-1597-y . 22293854 . 9599754 . 11 October 2021.
  8. Web site: Winslow Briggs' Profile | Stanford Profiles. profiles.stanford.edu.
  9. Book: Briggs . Winslow R. . Spudich . John L. . Handbook of photosensory receptors . 2005 . Wiley-VCH . Weinheim . 978-3-527-60510-1 . 11 October 2021.
  10. Briggs . Winslow R. . A Wandering Pathway in Plant Biology: From Wildflowers to Phototropins to Bacterial Virulence . Annual Review of Plant Biology . 2 June 2010 . 61 . 1 . 1–20 . 10.1146/annurev-arplant-042809-112326 . 20192732 . 11 October 2021.
  11. Web site: Natasha . Metzler . Plant biologist Winslow Briggs dies at 90 . Stanford News . Stanford University . February 22, 2019 . en . February 15, 2019.
  12. Web site: In Memory of Winslow R. Briggs (1928-2019) . evolutionsbiologen.de . 11 October 2021.
  13. Web site: Winslow Briggs . John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation . 11 October 2021.
  14. Web site: Winslow R. Briggs . National Academy of Sciences . 11 October 2021.
  15. Web site: Winslow Briggs Minding the gap—between guard cells December 3, 2012 . University of Missouri . 11 October 2021.
  16. Web site: Distinguished Fellow of the Botanical Society of America . Botanical Society of America . 11 October 2021.
  17. Web site: List of Members. leopoldina.org. 19 October 2017.
  18. Web site: Sterling B. Hendricks Memorial Lectureship . AGRO Division . 11 October 2021.
  19. Web site: The Bernard Axelrod Lectures 2008 . Purdue University . 11 October 2021.
  20. Web site: Winslow Briggs, who discovered how plant seedlings grow toward light, dies at 90 . Carnegie Institution for Science . 11 October 2021. February 12, 2019.
  21. Engen . Katie . Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Awards International Prize for Biology to Winslow Briggs Emperor and Empress of Japan Preside at Prestigious Tokyo Ceremony . ASPB News, THE NEWSLETTER OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF PLANT BIOLOGISTS . 2010 . 37 . 1 . 13–15 . 11 October 2021.
  22. News: McDowell . Tina . Award for Winslow Briggs . 11 October 2021 . ASP NEWS . American Society for Photobiology . Autumn . 2009.
  23. News: Carnegie's Winslow Briggs Receives International Prize for Biology . 11 October 2021 . Carnegie Institution for Science . September 16, 2009.
  24. Web site: Carnegie Institution for Science . Carnegie's Winslow Briggs elected Einstein Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences Grant and Award Announcement . EurekAlert! . 11 October 2021. 14 October 2010.
  25. Web site: Winslow Russell Briggs, Ph.D., Presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who . 11 October 2021 . Who's Who in America . July 10, 2018.
  26. Web site: ASPB Pioneer Members .

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