Awards for the New Zealand Society of Plant Biologists
The New Zealand Society of Plant Biologists (NZSPB) has made the following awards:
The Roger Slack Award is the major research award of the NZSPB, and every third year (including 2025) it is awarded to an early-career researcher (within ten years of highest qualification).
The Roger Slack Award in Plant Biology has been awarded to Dr Soledad Perez-Santangelo from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.
Dr Perez-Santangelo, an early-career researcher, won the award for her research on the physiology and molecular regulation of plant circadian rhythms in plants. Over the past five years, she has established herself as New Zealand’s leading expert in this field. She was recently appointed Lecturer in Plant Molecular Biology at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, where she has established her own research group, focused on the molecular mechanisms by which the circadian clock integrates environmental cues and modulates plant physiology in legumes.
Dr Perez-Santangelo received the award and gave the Roger Slack Award Talk at the Plant Science Central conference at Massey University, on July 1-3.
The NZSPB Michael McManus Award for Best Student Paper was awarded to Ella Grierson for the outstanding paper 'A phosphatase gene is linked to nectar dihydroxyacetone accumulation in mānuka (Leptospermum scoparium)' published in New Phytologist. This work represents a major component of Ella’s PhD research, examining the molecular basis for high-value honey traits in mānuka and related species.
Her research forms part of a wider Endeavour Smart Idea research programme that she co-leads at Plant and Food Research with partners at Ngati Pourou Miere Rangahau and the University of Waikato. Ms Grierson also received her award and presented her research at Plant Science Central.