Brad Haire/University of Georgia
TIFTON — University of Georgia Tifton scientist Peggy Ozias-Akins has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for “scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”
The Tifton native will be honored, along with 531 new Fellows, at the 2010 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego Feb. 20. AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society. Being named a Fellow is one of its most prestigious honors, a tradition that started in 1874.
Ozias-Akins, a professor of horticulture, is being recognized for her contributions to the field of agricultural biotechnology.
After graduating high school in Tifton and attending a year at a local junior college, she studied in Florida and then in Germany. In 1986, she returned home and established her laboratory on the UGA Tifton Campus. And since then, research scientists and students have traveled from across the world to collaborate with and to learn from her.
Apomixis is a strange trait that allows a plant to produce a seed identical to itself -- a natural clone. For years, she has searched for the genetic information that causes it. The trait occurs naturally in many plants, but it's rare in domesticated ones. It doesn’t happen in any major food crops.
She developed a method to genetically engineer peanuts that is used by other scientists. She’s working now to create a peanut that doesn’t have the protein that causes severe allergic reactions in some people.
She is married to Paul Akins, a former farmer. Their son is Robert.
AAAS publishes the journal Science as well as Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling. It was founded in 1848, and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science.
