Chris-Carolin Schön was one of the first scientists to recognize the importance of genomic selection for plant breeding research and used it for this purpose. Based on a dense coverage of molecular markers across the entire plant genome, this method links plant characteristics to specific genes. This information can then be used to predict the performance of newly bred plants using statistical methods.
The "Synbreed - Synergistic Plant and Animal Breeding" research cluster, initiated and coordinated by Schön and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), investigated the potential applications of genomic selection, particularly in maize. Within this framework, a dense map of molecular markers and deep genome sequences of European maize was created. Schön's research team also quantified both experimentally and theoretically how precisely the performance characteristics can actually be predicted. Sen. Prof. Dr. Peter Westhoff from the Department of Biology at HHU said in his laudatory speech: "This work was of immense importance, as it led to a reorientation of breeding methodology. It allows the breeding process to be accelerated and made more effective. Looking to the future, it has significant potential for breeding practice in order to quickly develop climate-adapted and climate-resilient varieties."
As a pioneer in German plant breeding research, Prof. Schön has collaborated with HHU on many projects, including the BMBF-funded joint projects OPTIMAIS, FULLTHROTTLE and MAZE. Together with plant physiologists, biochemists and molecular biologists from Düsseldorf, a number of genes have been identified that influence the coolness or drought tolerance of maize, among other things. Dean Prof. Dr. Martin Heil: "Chris-Carolin Schön is an outstanding plant geneticist with an international reputation. The plant scientists in Düsseldorf have been working closely and successfully with her for many years. She is valued as a highly innovative researcher who has provided many impulses for the joint projects and driven them forward. Therefore, we are honoring her today with an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences." Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Chris-Carolin Schön replies: "The cooperation with our colleagues from Düsseldorf is something very special. With our interdisciplinary research, we are building bridges between the basic biological subjects and the agricultural sciences."
About the person: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Chris-Carolin Schön
Chris-Carolin Schön (born 1963 in Tübingen) studied General Agricultural Sciences at the University of Hohenheim and Crop Science at Oregon State University in the USA (Master's degree 1990). She received her doctorate in Hohenheim in 1993 with a thesis on "RFLP Mapping in Maize (Zea mays L.): Quantitative Trait Loci Affecting Testcross Performance of Elite European Flint Lines". She subsequently worked at KWS Saat SE until 1996 and then took over the management of the State Seed Breeding Institute at the University of Hohenheim. In 2006, she habilitated there in the field of plant breeding. Since 2007, she has held the Chair of Plant Breeding at the Technical University of Munich.
Prof. Schön's research focuses on agricultural sciences, plant breeding, quantitative genetics, genetic diversity and climate resilience. She was one of the first geneticists to recognize the potential of genomic selection for plant breeding. She is also one of the pioneers who combined quantitative genetic analysis of agronomically relevant traits with molecular biological, physiological and biochemical approaches. She is currently the spokesperson for the BMBF-funded project network "MAZE - Accessing the genomic and functional diversity of maize to improve quantitative traits". She has published more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including PNAS, Nature Communications, Nature Genetics, Genome Biology, Plant Cell and Genetics.
Prof. Schön is a member of various expert committees and societies, advisory boards and commissions. She was a board member and president of the Society for Plant Breeding e.V. and a senate member of the DFG. She has been a member of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina since 2018 and of the German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech) since 2020. Her awards include the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Medal of the Technical University of Munich (2009), the Max Schönleutner Medal (2016) and the Bavarian Medal of Merit (2018).