Sean R. Cutler is a professor of plant

cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

at the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

. In 2009 Cutler showed how

abscisic acid Abscisic acid (ABA) is a plant hormone. ABA functions in many plant developmental processes, including seed and bud dormancy, the control of organ size and stomatal closure. It is especially important for plants in the response to environmental s ...

, a naturally-produced plant stress hormone, helps plants survive by inhibiting their growth in times of drought. Cutler also discovered

pyrabactin Pyrabactin is a synthetic sulfonamide that mimics abscisic acid (ABA), a naturally produced stress hormone A hormone (from the Greek participle , "setting in motion") is a class of signaling molecules in multicellular organisms that are sent ...

, a synthetic chemical that mimics abscisic acid. His research was named by

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

magazine as one of the top 10 breakthroughs of the year. In 2018, he was elected to the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

. Cutler received his B.A. and M.S. from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, and his Ph.D. from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. He is a member of the Editorial Board for ''

PNAS ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scien ...

''.

References

External links

Sean Cutler - UCR website

Imagine there’s no hunger... It’s easy if you try (University of California)

Organic compound comes to the aid of thirsty plants, Royal Society of Chemistry, 01 May 2009

What if Scientists Didn’t Compete? (New York Times article on Cutler, April 30, 2009)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cutler, Sean University of California, Riverside faculty University of Toronto alumni Stanford University alumni Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)