Dennis, Elizabeth Salisbury (1943 - )

Summary

Liz Dennis was a Research Scientist with CSIRO Division of Plant Industry 1972-1974, then Senior Research Scientist, Principal Research Scientist, Senior Principal Research Scientist, Chief Research Scientist from 1976. She was Program Leader, Genomics and Plant Development. Her pioneering research focused on the role of genes in relation to how plants know when to flower and how they react to stress. Dennis has been involved in Australian and international agencies on genomics, particularly of cotton, rice and arabidopsis.

Details

In 2014 Dennis was awarded the CSIRO Medal for Lifetime Achievement for her distinguished career in plant molecular biology that established CSIRO as a world leader in this field.

Chronology

1964

Education - Bachelor of Science with Honours (BSc(Hons)), University of Sydney

1968

Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Sydney

1968 - 1970

Career position - Postdoctoral Fellow, Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York

1970 - 1972

Career position - Lecturer in Microbiology (later Biochemistry), University of Papua New Guinea

1972 - 1974

Career position - Research Scientist at the CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) Division of Plant Industry

1974 - 1976

Career position - Senior Lecturer in Biochemistry, University of Papua New Guinea

1976 - 1991

Career position - Senior Research Scientist (later Senior Principal Research Scientist) CSIRO Division of Plant Industry

1978 - 1979

Career position - Member of Committee, Genetics Society of Australia

1982 - 1983

Career position - Visiting Fellow, Biochemistry Department, Stanford University, California, U.S.A.

1987

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)

1987 - 1993

Career position - Editor, Advances in plant gene research

1988

Award - Pharmacia LKB/Biotechnology Medal, Australian Biochemical Society

1990 - 1991

Career position - Founding Editor, The plant journal

1990 - 1993

Career position - Member, Board of Directors of the International Society of Plant Molecular Biology

1990 - 1993

Career position - Editor, Genetic research

1991 - 1998

Career position - Adjunct Professor, Australian National University

1991 - 2014

Career position - Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Plant Industry

1992 - 1994

Career position - President, Australian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

1993 - 1994

Career position - Chairman, Multinational Arabidopsis Coordinated Steering Committee

1994

Career position - Member, Rice Biotechnology Working Group, Overseas Development Agency, United Kingdom

1995 -

Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)

1997

Award - Avon Spirit of Achievement Award

1997

Award - Lemberg Medal and Oration, Australian Society for Biochemical and Molecular Biology

2000 -

Career position - Member, Prime Minister's Science and Engineering Council

2000

Award - Prime Minister's Prize for Science (jointly with W. James Peacock), Commonwealth of Australia

2001 -

Award - Fellow, CSIRO

2001

Award - Centenary Medal - For a lifetime of excellence in science, in particular the discovery of the Flowering Switch Gene.

2002 -

Award - Fellow, American Society for the Advancement of Science

2008

Career position - Associate Editor, The plant genome

2014 -

Career position - Distinguished Professor, School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney

2014

Award - CSIRO Medal for Lifetime Achievement, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Organisation

2014

Award - Farrer Memorial Medal, Farrer Memorial Trust

2016

Award - M. J. D. White Medal, Genetics Society of Australia

2019

Award - Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) - For eminent service to science as a researcher and academic in the area of genomics and plant development, and to professional organisations.

2022

Award - Ruby Payne-Scott Medal and Lecture, Australian Academy of Science

2022

Award - Fellow, American Society for the Advancement of Science

Related entries

Published resources

Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Exhibitions

• McCarthy, Gavan; Morgan, Helen; Smith, Ailie; van den Bosch, Alan, Where are the Women in Australian Science?, Exhibition of the Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, First published 2003 with lists updated regulary edn, Australian Science and Technology Heritage Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, 2003, https://eoas.info/exhibitions/wisa/wisa.html. Details

Books

• Bhathal, Ragbir, Profiles, Australian women scientists (Canberra: National Library of Australia, 1999), 191 pp. Details

Journal Articles

• Anon, 'Australian Academy of Science honours for ASBMB members', Australian biochemist, 53 (1) (2022), 3. Details
• Dennis, Liz, 'Great expectations: happiness in my DNA', Australian biochemist, 51 (2) (2020), 50-3. Details

Resources

• 'Dennis, Elizabeth Salisbury (1943 - )', Recipients [of the Prime Minister's Prizes for Science, 2000 - 2017], Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, 2017, https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20171113014421/http://www.science.gov.au/community/PrimeMinistersPrizesforScience/Recipients/2000/Pages/Dr-Jim-Peacock-and-Dr-Liz-Dennis.aspx. Details
• 'Liz Dennis - Citation at year of election, 1995', Fellows of the Academy, Australian Academy of Science, 2019, https://www.science.org.au/profile/liz-dennis. Details
• 'Dennis, Elizabeth Salisbury (19431210-)', Trove, National Library of Australia, 2009, https://nla.gov.au/nla.party-1476364. Details

Resource Sections

• Gibson, Frank, 'Interview with Dr Liz Dennis', in Interviews with Australian scientists, Australian Academy of Science, 18 August 2000, https://www.science.org.au/learning/general-audience/history/interviews-australian-scientists/dr-liz-dennis-plant-biologist. Details
• Peacock, W. J. and Dennis, Elizabeth S., 'Frankel, Sir Otto Herzberg (1900 - 1998), plant scientist', in Australian dictionary of biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, Canberra, 2023, https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/frankel-sir-otto-herzberg-32204. Details
• Ward, C., 'Elizabeth Salisbury Dennis', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 2011, https://csiropedia.csiro.au/Dennis-Elizabeth-Salisbury. Details

See also

• Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Handbook 2001 (Victoria: Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 2001), 271 pp. Details
• Who's who in Australia 2012 (Melbourne: Crown Content Pty Ltd, 2012), 2430 pp. Details
• Companion (AC) in the General Division of the Order of Australia [Australia Day 2019], Governor General's Office, Canberra, 2019, https://web.archive.org.au/awa/20190510165629mp_/https:/www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/ad/ad2019/xklw-03mcv/Media%20Notes%20-%20AC.pdf. Details
• Herd, Margaret ed., Who's who in Australia 2002 (Melbourne: Crown Content, 2001), 2020 pp. Details
• Ward, Colin, 'CSIRO Medal for Lifetime Achievement', in CSIROpedia, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), 2022, https://csiropedia.csiro.au/csiro-medal-for-lifetime-achievement/. Details