About the Award
The IS-MPMI Outstanding Achievement Award recognizes an investigator who has a high international reputation as a research leader for groundbreaking and original research in the area of molecular plant-microbe interactions. The award also recognizes their strong commitment to one or more activities that advance the molecular plant-microbe interactions field, including teaching, mentoring, educational outreach, international collaborations, service to the community, and/or advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
2025 Awardee
Distinguished Professor Roger Innes
Indiana University Bloomington
Outstanding Achievement Award Presentation at 2025 IS-MPMI Congress
Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 20:25 - 20:45
The Importance of Being Wrong. How Disproving Hypotheses Has Repeatedly Led to Exciting New Science Over the Course of My Career
Roger Innes holds the Class of 1954 Professorship in Biology at Indiana University-Bloomington. He received his Ph.D. in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and completed Post-doctoral research at the University of California-Berkeley where he helped develop Arabidopsis as a model system for studying molecular plant-microbe interactions. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Academy of Microbiology, and is the immediate Past President the International Society of Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions. He also served as President of the North American Arabidopsis Steering Committee (NAASC). His current research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying the plant immune system and development of novel strategies for engineering disease resistant crops. Over the course of his career, Dr. Innes has contributed to several seminal discoveries in plant-microbe interactions. These include the discovery that legumes secrete isoflavanoids from their roots to induce expression of nodulation genes in Rhizobium, the identification of the first avirulence proteins in Pseudomonas syringae that are recognized by Arabidopsis (AvrRpt2, AvrB and AvrPphB), the identification and cloning of the Arabidopsis NLR genes RPM1 and RPS5, which were among the first NLR genes cloned from plants, and development of the ‘guard model’ for NLR protein function, whereby NLR proteins sense modifications of host proteins targeted by pathogen effectors. Most recently, his group has shown that plants secreate extracellular vesicles and RNA in response to pathogen infection, with the surprising discovery that plant leaves are coated by RNA, which is likely to impact the microbes that colonize leaf surfaces.
Honor Bestowed
$1,000 honorarium and inscribed crystal award
Complimentary meeting registration to the IS-MPMI Congress
Featured award presentation
Eligibility
Nominees must be current IS-MPMI Professional Members both at time of nomination and upon receipt of award.
Nominees who have a high international reputation as a research leader for groundbreaking and original research in the area of molecular plant-microbe interactions.
The award also recognizes nominees with strong commitment to one or more activities that advance the molecular plant-microbe interactions field, including teaching, mentoring, educational outreach, international collaborations, service to the community, and/or advancing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
Application Requirements
Save all required materials into one PDF file prior to submitting the online nomination. Nominations for the 2027 award will open fall 2026.
- Nomination letter (not to exceed 2 pages) describing the basis for the nomination. This letter should document the relevance and impact of the candidate's research contributions and activities that advance the molecular plant-microbe interactions field. The letter may be written by a single individual or group of individuals.
Curriculum vitae of the nominee summarizing their research, teaching, mentoring, and/or service activities.
List of Publications to include the 10 most significant publications of the nominee.
Letters of support (optional 2 maximum) that provide additional insight into the significance of the nominee's contributions outlined in the nomination letter are welcome though not required.
