A 36-year-old scientist at SCRI, Scotland’s leading centre for crop research and plant breeding, has been awarded the Peter Massalski Prize for meritorious research.

Dr Csaba Hornyik, who’s from Hungary, has been working at SCRI since 2005.

His career has seen many honours. He won a Marie Curie long term fellowship to support his research. And earlier this year he won first prize for the best scientific poster during the College of Life Sciences Annual Research Symposium, University of Dundee held at Crieff.

His current research work focuses on the regulation of flowering time in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This involves the fields of genetics and climate research.

Dr Hornyik is to receive his prize at today’s annual general meeting of the Scottish Society for Crop Research, who administer the award. The meeting is held at SCRI.

Dr Hornyik said: “This prestigious prize is a real milestone in my scientific career and shows that our research is well recognised at SCRI. The atmosphere at SCRI, the support of my colleagues and my family all helped me in my research work.”

Professor Peter Gregory, SCRI’s Chief Executive and Institute Director, said: “Csaba is a fantastic ambassador for the work we do at SCRI and highly respected among his colleagues.

“His work has identified the activity of an important protein in plants controlling flowering but which also has parallels in animals including humans.”

The Massalski Prize was established through the generosity of Professor and the late Mrs T B Massalski. It was in memory of their son, Dr Peter R Massalski, who was a member of staff at of the Scottish Crop Research Institute at the time of his death.

The prize is awarded biennially to the person under 36-years-old, who is considered to have done the most meritorious research whilst working at SCRI.

It takes the form of a certificate accompanied by a monetary award. Dr Hornyik is married with two children and lives in Dundee.

Notes to editors

The Scottish Society for Crop Research AGM will be held in the New Seminar Room at SCRI, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA at 2pm on Wednesday 26 May 2010. The invited lecture will be given by Professor Martin Tangney, Biofuel Research Centre, Edinburgh Napier University.

More information from:

Phil Taylor, Head of Communications, SCRI, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA. Tel: 01382 560044 (direct line), Mobile: 07810 860 701 or

Lorraine Wakefield, Information and Online Service Officer, SCRI, Invergowrie, Dundee, DD2 5DA. Tel: 01382 560047 (direct line) or 562731 (switchboard).