News
Walter Gassmann #IAmScience
Walter Gassmann, the new Interim Director of Bond LSC. | Photo by Roger Meissen, Bond LSC
By Mary Jane Rogers | Bond LSC
“#IAmScience because science is the best way to solve problems and help people. And the laws of nature write fascinating stories.”
Walter Gassmann, the new Interim Director of Bond LSC, has been an important part of the MU science community for more than a decade. He’s a member of the Interdisciplinary Plant Group, a researcher in Bond LSC and a professor in the Division of Plant Sciences within the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
His research deals with how plants fight diseases and he specifically investigates the inner workings of plants’ immune systems, which are highly specialized in detecting the presence of foreign and potentially harmful organisms. Apart from figuring out how this detection works, Gassmann is interested in finding mechanisms that plants use to keep their immune system in check. The plant immune response is very potent in stopping pathogen spread, but if left unchecked it has the tendency to harm the surrounding plant tissue as well.
Fundamental plant pathology research, what Gassmann’s work deals with, has contributed to many agricultural gains, and will continue to provide avenues for improved crop yields. It has also led to many new insights for biology in general. For example, the concept of a virus was first developed in the late 1800s with work on tobacco mosaic virus. The tit-for-tat between plants and their pathogens has shaped plant immune systems and pathogen countermeasures for eons, and also affords a fascinating glimpse into the processes that shape the evolution of complex organisms.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to plant pathology, Gassmann was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2016.
We look forward to your leadership, Dr. Gassmann!