McClintock Prize Past Winners

The 2025 McClintock Prize
Ed Buckler (USDA-ARS)
This award is in recognition of his fundamental contribution to enhanced understanding of genomic diversity in maize and genetic architecture of complex traits; innovative design of molecular, genetic, and statistical approaches to identify genes underlying agronomic, evolutionary, and nutritional traits; and systematic development of informatic platforms to empower worldwide breeding programs for genomics-assisted crop improvement.
The 2024 McClintock Prize
Dr. Caroline Dean (John Innes Centre)
This award is in recognition of her contributions to the description of epigenetic control responsible for flowering time variation including epigenetic memory during vernalization, and the regulatory role of non-coding RNAs on chromatin and stochasticity of decision making at the cellular level that foreshadowed subsequent discoveries in animals.
The 2023 McClintock Prize
Dr. Virginia Walbot (Stanford University)
This award is in recognition of her contributions to transposon biology, epigenetics, anther development, interaction of maize with Ustilago, maize genomics, mitochondrial organization, and environmental (hypoxia, UV-B, temperature) effects on development, gene expression, RNA biology, and transposon activity.
The 2022 McClintock Prize
Dr. Robin Buell (University of Georgia)
The Maize Genetics Awards Nomination Committee would like to announce that the winner of the 2022 McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies is Dr. Robin Buell of the University of Georgia. This award is in recognition of her groundbreaking work in plant genome structure, function and evolution.
The 2021 McClintock Prize
Dr. John F. Doebley (University of Wisconsin)
The Maize Genetics Awards Nomination Committee would like to announce that the winner of the 2021 McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies is Dr. John F. Doebley of the University of Wisconsin. This award is in recognition of his significant contributions to our understanding of genome evolution and maize as a model system for crop domestication.
The 2020 McClintock Prize
Dr. Jim Birchler (University of Missouri)
The Maize Genetics Awards Nomination Committee would like to announce that the winner of the 2020 McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies is Dr. Jim Birchler of the University of Missouri. This award is in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the understanding of chromosome structure, gene dosage, epigenetics, heterosis, and for creating artificial mini-chromosomes.
The 2019 McClintock Prize
Dr. Detlef Weigel (Max Planck Institute)
The Maize Genetics Executive Committee would like to announce that the winner of the 2019 McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies is Dr. Detlef Weigel of the Max Planck Institute. This award is in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the understanding of evolutionary biology and plant system immunity. More detailed descriptions of Dr. Weigel's scientific accomplishments are available at https://weigelworld.org.
The 2018 McClintock Prize
Dr. Rob Martienssen (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)
The Maize Genetics Executive Committee would like to announce that the winner of the 2018 McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies is Dr. Rob Martienssen of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. This award is in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the understanding of epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation and inheritance. More detailed descriptions of Dr. Martienssen's scientific accomplishments are available at https://www.cshl.edu/research/faculty-staff/rob-martienssen/.
The 2017 McClintock Prize
Dr. Michael Freeling (University of California, Berkeley)
The Maize Genetics Executive Committee would like to announce that the winner of the 2017 McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies is Prof. Michael Freeling of University of California at Berkeley. This award is in recognition of his fundamental contributions to the understanding of genome evolution and gene function. More detailed descriptions of Prof. Freeling's scientific accomplishments are available at http://plantandmicrobiology.berkeley.edu/profile/freeling.
The 2016 McClintock Prize
Dr. Jeffrey D. Palmer (Indiana University at Bloomington)
The Maize Genetics Executive Committee would like to announce that the winner of the 2016 McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies is Prof. Jeffrey D. Palmer of Indiana University at Bloomington. This award is in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the understanding of genome structure, function, and evolution. More detailed descriptions of Prof. Palmer's scientific accomplishments are available at http://www.bio.indiana.edu/faculty/directory/profile.php?person=jpalmer.
The 2015 McClintock Prize
Dr. Susan Wessler (University of California at Riverside)
The Maize Genetics Executive Committee would like to announce that the winner of the 2015 McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies is Prof. Susan Wessler of the University of California at Riverside. This award is in recognition of her exceptional contributions to the field of plant transposable element biology, a field in which Dr. McClintock was the pioneering genius. More detailed descriptions of Prof. Wessler's scientific accomplishments are available at http://cepceb.ucr.edu/people/wessler.html and http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/members/913.html.
The 2014 McClintock Prize
Dr. David C. Baulcombe (University of Cambridge)
The Maize Genetics Executive Committee would like to announce that the winner of the inaugural McClintock Prize for Plant Genetics and Genome Studies is Prof. Sir David Baulcombe of the University of Cambridge. This award is in recognition of his exceptional contributions in the field of plant epigenetics, a field in which Dr. McClintock was one of the pioneers. More detailed descriptions of Prof. Baulcombe's scientific accomplishments are available here and at http://www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/research/davidbaulcombe.