image: GMI group leader Yasin Dagdas. view more
Credit: © Sandra Schartel
Yasin Dagdas, group leader at the Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW), is a newly elected member of the OeAW’s Young Academy. With its excellent young researchers from all disciplines, the Young Academy is one of the pillars supporting the OeAW’s mission of “promoting science in every way”.
On Monday, April 3, the OeAW announced the election of Yasin Dagdas, group leader at the Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI), to its Young Academy. Dagdas is the first GMI scientist to receive this distinction. The Young Academy was created in 2008 and comprises established junior researchers whose work has received broad recognition. Its members are elected for a period of eight years and must be younger than 40 years old at the time of their election. The newly elected OeAW members will be introduced at a ceremony on Friday, May 12.
Yasin Dagdas
Yasin Dagdas joined GMI in January 2017 following a postdoctoral position in Sophien Kamoun’s lab at The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK. The Dagdas lab investigates autophagy-mediated cellular quality control mechanisms in plants. In his latest publication, Dagdas and his team uncovered a molecular switch that regulates autophagy in plants. Dagdas’ awards include the 2018 Biochemical Society Early Career Research Award for Cells, an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2022, and The President’s Medal of the Society of Experimental Biology in 2023.
Dagdas, who also oversees the GMI's International Internship Program, sees his membership in the Young Academy as an opportunity to advance his work in mentorship and outreach. “Academics have three main tasks, in my opinion: producing knowledge, mentoring the next generation of scientists, and engaging with the public about issues that are relevant to society. Being a member of the Young Academy will provide me with a valuable opportunity to engage with the public on topics related to plant sciences, such as climate change and genetically modified crops,” says Dagdas.
Dagdas is the first GMI scientist and the fourteenth Vienna BioCenter researcher to be elected to the OeAW Young Academy since its creation in 2008. At the ceremony on May 12, Dagdas will join four other Vienna BioCenter researchers that are already members of the Young Academy.
OeAW’s learned society
The Young Academy is part of the learned society of the OeAW, whose membership comprises more than 770 respected scholars in Austria and worldwide.
Further OeAW members related to GMI include Founding Director Dieter Schweizer, Full Member of the Division of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences since 1992; Scientific Director Magnus Nordborg, Corresponding Member of the Division of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences in Austria since 2013; and former group leader Marjori Ann Matzke, Corresponding Member of the Division of Mathematics and the Natural Sciences abroad.
About GMI:
The Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (GMI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (OeAW) conducts cutting-edge research in molecular plant biology. Research topics include epigenetics, cell biology, plant-pathogen interactions, developmental biology, and population genetics. GMI is located at the Vienna BioCenter, one of the leading life sciences locations in Europe.