Catherine Feuillet, 46, joined INRA in 2004 at the
Joint Research Unit for Genetics, Diversity and Ecophysiology of Cereals (GDEC - INRA Clermont-Ferrand), where she leads the group “Structure, Evolution and Function of the Wheat Genome”. She is also the unit's deputy director since 2006. She and her team unveiled (
Science, Oct. 3, 2008) the
first physical map of a wheat chromosome, 3B, which alone represents three times the size of the rice genome, a feat worthy of the challenges she likes to set.
Catherine Feuillet joined INRA after 10 years of research in Switzerland on the cloning of fungal disease resistance genes and structural genomics studies in wheat and barley. Today, Feuillet's research is part of the global “
International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium” project that she co-chairs since 2005. More than 100 laboratories from 30 countries have joined the consortium and are working together to meet the incredible challenge of sequencing the bread wheat genome. In this framework, Feuillet and her team are currently analyzing the sequence of chromosome 3B. She also coordinates the European research project
TriticeaeGenome, launched in 2008 and which brings together the best laboratories working on wheat and barley genomics in Europe (15 research organizations and 2 industrial partners). The project received funding of €5.3 million from the European Commission over 4 years as part of the 7th Framework Programme for research and development.
In the next nine years, Catherine Feuillet will be coordinating the French Stimulus Initiative Project called “
Breedwheat” and launched on Sept. 29, 2011. The project aims at strengthening the competitiveness of the French breeding sector while addressing the societal demand for sustainability, quality and safety. Bringing together 26 partners from the public and private research and breeding sectors, it has a total budget of €34 million. Breedwheat will enhance the sustainability of wheat production through the development of new varieties that are more robust and less demanding in water and fertilizer, towards a more environmentally friendly agriculture that is adapted to climate change.
The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874 to honour people for their meritorious efforts to advance science or its applications. Fellows are elected by the AAAS Council after nomination by one of the 24 steering group, or other Fellows, or by the AAAS chief executive officer. New Fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on Saturday, 18 February from 8 to 10 a.m. at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2012 AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
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