The University of Lethbridge Senate is pleased to announce the third of its distinguished 2014 Honorary Degree recipients – pioneering scientist in plant biotechnology and epigenetics, Dr. Barbara Hohn.
“Dr. Hohn’s influential work in epigenetics and biotechnology is especially significant to the ongoing research pursuits here at the University and we’re thrilled that she has accepted our offer of an Honorary Degree,” says University of Lethbridge Chancellor, Dr. Shirley McClellan.
The U of L will present Hohn with the degree of Doctor of Science, honouris causa at the Spring 2014 Convocation Ceremony I on Thursday, May 29, 2014 at 9:30 a.m. in the 1st Choice Savings Centre for Sport and Wellness.
Dr. Barbara Hohn
An influential and celebrated scientist, Professor Dr. Barbara Hohn is a pioneer in plant biotechnology and plant epigenetics as well as an exceptional mentor for future generations of scholars.
In a time when society did not expect or encourage women to become scientists or biochemists, Hohn defied those expectations. She received a degree in biochemistry from the University of Tübingen, Germany, one of Europe’s oldest universities, and completed her post-doctoral studies at Yale and Stanford universities. She went on to establish a laboratory at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research in Switzerland.
Hohn’s contributions to scientific research are significant and wide-ranging, and have opened new directions in science. She has published research articles in high-ranking journals such as Cell, Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Plant Cell, the EMBO Journal, among others.
As an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, a founding member of Academia Europaea, a member of the Swiss National Research Council and the Austrian Academy of Sciences, and a Foreign Member of the Royal Society, Hohn’s scientific achievements have been widely recognized. The results of her work have been applied across the globe, and many of the researchers Hohn has trained are now world leaders in various areas in the life sciences.