Jozef Stefaan "Jeff", Baron Schell (20 July 1935 – 17 April 2003) was a Belgian

molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

. Schell studied

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

and

microbiology Microbiology () is the branches of science, scientific study of microorganisms, those being of unicellular organism, unicellular (single-celled), multicellular organism, multicellular (consisting of complex cells), or non-cellular life, acellula ...

at the

University of Ghent Ghent University (, abbreviated as UGent) is a Public university, public research university located in Ghent, in the East Flanders province of Belgium. Located in Flanders, Ghent University is the second largest Belgian university, consisting o ...

, Belgium. From 1967 to 1995, he worked as a professor at the university. From 1978 to 2000 he was director and head of the

Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research The Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research was founded in Müncheberg, Germany in 1928 as part of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft. The founding director, Erwin Baur, initiated breeding programmes with fruits and berries, and basic res ...

(Institut für Züchtungsforschung) at the

Max-Planck-Gesellschaft The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany. He received many prizes, among which were the

Francqui Prize The Francqui Prize is a prestigious Belgian scholarly and scientific prize named after Émile Francqui. Normally annually since 1933, the Francqui Foundation awards it in recognition of the achievements of a scholar or scientist, who at the star ...

in 1979, the

Wolf Prize in Agriculture The Wolf Prize in Agriculture is awarded annually since 1978 by the Wolf Foundation in Israel. It is one of the six Wolf Prizes, alongside those for Wolf Prize in Chemistry, chemistry, Wolf Prize in Mathematics, mathematics, Wolf Prize in Medicine, ...

in 1990, and the

Japan Prize is awarded to individuals whose original and outstanding achievements in science and technology are recognized as having advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind. As of 2024, the Japan Prize h ...

in 1998, which he shared with

Marc Van Montagu Marc, Baron Van Montagu (born 10 November 1933 in Ghent) is a Belgian molecular biologist. He was full professor and director of the Laboratory of Genetics at the faculty of Sciences at Ghent University (Belgium) and scientific director of the ...

.Prof. Dr. Jozef S. Schell
japanprize.jp He also was appointed Professeur Honoraire,

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

, Paris in 1998. He was granted the title of Baron by Baudouin of Belgium. Schell was a pioneer in genetics who focused on the interaction between plants and soil bacteria. Along with his colleague,

, Jeff Schell discovered the

gene transfer Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) or lateral gene transfer (LGT) is the movement of genetic material between organisms other than by the ("vertical") transmission of DNA from parent to offspring (reproduction). HGT is an important factor in the e ...

mechanism between

Agrobacterium ''Agrobacterium'' is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria established by Harold J. Conn, H. J. Conn that uses horizontal gene transfer to cause tumors in plants. ''Agrobacterium tumefaciens'' is the most commonly studied species in this genus. ''Agr ...

and plants, which resulted in the development of methods to alter Agrobacterium into an efficient delivery system for gene engineering in plants. Besides being a prominent scientist, in 1982 he co-founded, with Marc Van Montagu, the successful

biotech Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...

company

Plant Genetic Systems Plant Genetic Systems (PGS), since 2002 part of Bayer CropScience, is a biotech company located in Ghent, Belgium. The focus of its activities is the genetic engineering of plants. The company is best known for its work in the development of inse ...

Inc., now part of

Bayer CropScience Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer's a ...

Selected publications

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References

1935 births 2003 deaths Flemish scientists Flemish businesspeople Belgian molecular biologists Ghent University alumni Academic staff of Ghent University History of biotechnology Australia Prize recipients Wolf Prize in Agriculture laureates Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Max Planck Institute directors {{Belgium-scientist-stub

See also

Selected publications

References