Joanne Chory and Sandra Myrna Díaz 2019 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research

At its meeting in Oviedo, the Jury for the 2019 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific Research, made up ofs Jesús del Álamo, Juan Luis Arsuaga Ferreras, Alicia Asín Pérez, César Cernuda Rego, Juan Ignacio Cirac Sasturáin, Miguel Delibes de Castro, Elena García Armada, Clara Grima Ruiz, Amador Menéndez Velázquez, Sir Salvador Moncada, Ginés Morata Pérez, Enrique Moreno González, Adriana Ocampo Uría, Peregrina Quintela Estévez, Inés Rodríguez Hidalgo, Manuel Toharia Cortés, María Vallet Regí, chaired by Pedro Miguel Echenique Landiríbar and with Santiago García Granda as acting secretary, has unanimously decided to bestow the 2019 Princess of Asturias Award for Technical and Scientific and Research on American Joanne Chory and Argentinian Sandra Myrna Díaz for their pioneering contributions to our knowledge of plant biology, which are crucial in the fight against climate change and in the defence of biodiversity.

The work of Joanne Chory on the molecular and genetic responses of plants to environmental variations, particularly light and temperature, help to understand and improve the adaptation of natural systems to global warming. In a complementary yet independent way, Sandra Myrna Díaz’s research enables quantifying the importance of the conservation of functional biodiversity in order to ensure the benefits that ecosystems provide to humanity.

Oviedo, 5th June 2019