Toni Kutchan to Receive the Fellows Award

St. Louis, MO, January 20, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Dr. Toni Kutchan, Member and Principal Investigator at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a recipient of the Fellows Award which recognizes a distinguished individual for outstanding achievement in science from the St. Louis Academy of Science. Kutchan will be presented her award on April 13th by the St. Louis scientific community and the Academy’s Board of Trustees during the 17th annual Academy of Science-St. Louis Awards dinner.

Since its inception, the Academy has promoted the recognition of the impressive scientists of St. Louis. This tradition continues with the Annual Outstanding St. Louis Scientist Awards. Each award-winner represents both an extraordinary caliber of expertise and a dedication to fostering science literacy.

“Toni is a world class scientist who has explored the biochemical pathways that plant use to produce pharmaceutical products,” said William H. Danforth, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center. “St. Louis is fortunate that she decided to come here to work at the Danforth Center.”

Kutchan is a leader in combining genetic techniques with detailed enzyme and chemical structural characterization. This unique ability to be a leader across multiple technical fields influenced her recent election to the German National Academy of Science. She works on the international plant biochemistry stage, with an emphasis on medicinal plants.

Prior to joining the Danforth Center in 2006, Kutchan spent 20 years researching biochemistry at the University of Munich and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry in Germany. She is currently investigating how plants produce medicinal compounds at the enzyme and gene level, which could lead to new sources of medications for use against conditions such as chronic pain and cancer. Kutchan serves as Adjunct Professor of Biology at Washington University. She received her B.S. in Chemistry at the Illinois Institute of Technology and her Ph.D. in Biochemistry at St. Louis University.

About The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research at the Danforth Center will feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment, and enhance the St. Louis region and Missouri as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center invites you to visit its new website, www.danforthcenter.org, featuring interactive information on the Center's scientists, news and research, including the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels, the Center for Advanced Biofuel Research, and the National Alliance for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts. Public education outreach, RSS feeds and the brand-new "Roots & Shoots" blog help keep visitors up to date with Center's current operations and areas of research.

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