Machi Dilworth

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Machi Fukuyama Dilworth
Born
Japan
Occupation
Plant biologist
Years active1971-2019
Known forUSDA Program Manager
NSF Program Director

Machi Fukuyama Dilworth is a Japanese and American plant biologist whose research focuses on genetic and hormonal metabolism in plants and who has been instrumental in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome sequencing project. Raised in Japan and attending university there, Dilworth moved to the United States for graduate studies and then worked at multiple universities as a research associate during the 1970s. Later hired by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), she was placed into increasing positions of influence by program director Mary Clutter and put in charge of the various plant genome projects in progress.

She used this opportunity and later positions in Japan, such as at

STEM fields and contribute to scientific research. Dilworth has been noted by the American Society of Plant Biologists
for her work and for being a founding member of its Legacy Society.

Childhood and education

Born in Japan, Dilworth attended

gibberellins are biosynthesized.[2]

Career

Postdoctorate and research associate

Instead of returning to Japan, because of her marriage, Dilworth moved to work at

genetic modification of plants using Agrobacterium tumefaciens after an interaction with Jozef Schell.[2]

Dilworth and her family moved to

Beth Gantt. She only stayed for several months though before applying for and obtaining in 1979 by the approval of Mary Clutter an assistant program director position at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in charge of the Developmental Biology program. Two years later in 1981, she became an associate program manager at the USDA Competitive Research Grants Office in charge of the Genetic Mechanisms Program.[2] She was involved in creating coordinating committees to focus on the multiple scientific fields needed to map the genomes of plants.[3] In 1987, she was a founding member of The Plant Cell, remaining the reviews editor until 1991.[4]

NSF and STEM for women

She spent most of a decade in the position navigating the proposal review panels before Clutter asked her to return to the NSF in 1990 to become a program director for the Biological Infrastructure Division (BIO) and to focus on supporting the Arabidopsis plant genome program.

visiting fellow funded by the Japan Science and Technology Agency. The purpose of the fellowship grant was to have her determine the current state of biotechnology research in Japan at various public and private institutions.[2]

This time period coincided with the United States government proposing the funding of the National Plant Genome Initiative, which Clutter accepted and had Dilworth begin work on creating the Plant Genome Research Program when she returned under the new funding system. The research served as a collaboration between the

STEM fields in Japan. After, she returned to the United States to become the acting executive officer for the NSF's Mathematical and Physical Sciences division from 2010 until 2011 and then top leadership in the NSF as head of the Office of International Science and Engineering from 2011 until 2012.[2]

Officially leaving the NSF in June 2012, Dilworth retired to Hawaii to join her husband's new home. She then took up a part time position as a senior adviser for the

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University to become the vice president for gender equality. This position allowed her to continue her previous efforts of increasing the amount of Japanese women joining STEM fields.[8] She then retired again in 2019.[2]

Research

After her graduate work on gibberellins, her postdoctoral work moved to

phycobilisomes.[2]

Organizations

Dilworth joined the American Society of Plant Biologists in the late 1960s and went on to become a founding member of the group's Legacy Society.[2]

Personal life

Dilworth met her husband, Greg Dilworth, while working on her Ph.D. at UCLA and they married the day after she successfully defended her thesis.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b "Dr. Machi F. Dilworth" (PDF). jst.go.jp. Japan Science and Technology Agency. September 21, 2004. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Rogers, Katie (April 13, 2020). "ASPB Member Spotlight – Machi F. Dilworth". aspb.org. American Society of Plant Biologists. Retrieved February 7, 2024.
  3. Gale OneFile
    .
  4. ^ Larkins, Brian A. (April 1997). "THE PLANT CELL's 100th Issue: Building an Exciting Future on a Strong Foundation". The Plant Cell. 9 (4): 463–465. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  5. Gale OneFile
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 9783030563677
    .
  7. Gale OneFile
    .
  8. ^ Waldron, Patricia (July 17, 2015). "Dilworth Becomes First VP for Gender Equality at OIST". Boyce Thompson Institute. Retrieved February 9, 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Machi_Dilworth&oldid=1216543686"