In memoriam: Daniel Ross Gallie

Daniel Gallie

Daniel Ross Gallie, UC Riverside professor of biochemistry, passed away Sept. 13, 2020, at the age of 63 after a five-year struggle with cancer. 

He earned his B.S. in chemistry and cellular and molecular biology from the University of Michigan in 1979 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry at UC Davis in 1985, working with Clarence Kado in the Department of Plant Pathology. He then pursued postdoctoral studies for two years at the John Innes Institute in England and then for three years at Stanford University, first as an NIH cancer biology postdoctoral fellow, then as an American Cancer Society senior postdoctoral fellow.  

He accepted a position as an assistant professor of biochemistry at UC Riverside in 1990 and advanced rapidly up the faculty ranks, becoming an associate professor in 1995 and a full professor in 1998. He was advanced to professor step VIII in 2015.  In recognition of his many research accomplishments, he was elected as a fellow of the American Associate for the Advancement of Science in 2005. 

Shortly after establishing his laboratory at UC Riverside, Dan expanded his focus to include applied research having the overall goal of increasing crop productivity to address increasing world population. 

Because plant growth and development is determined by environmental conditions in addition to the control of gene expression, he followed a plant systems approach and focused on (1) the role of plant hormones, particularly ethylene, abscisic acid, and cytokinin in regulating plant growth, responses to environmental stress, and programmed cell death, (2) the function of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) during plant growth and during environmental stress, and (3) the role of reactive oxygen species and the enzymes that detoxify them during plant growth and environmental stress. 

During his career, Dan published 111 refereed journal articles, 13 refereed book chapters, 17 review articles, 47 abstracts, and co-edited one book. According to a Web of Science search of all databases, Dan's work had been cited 8,258 times (an average of 60.72 citations per publication) and his h-index was 50 at the time of his passing. Because of the applied nature of much of his work, he was also awarded 14 patents and had four additional patents pending. 

Dan was witty, sarcastic, and never afraid to challenge dogma. Dan left an indelible mark and will be missed.

Dan is survived by his husband John McCabe and the extended McCabe/Thorndyke clan, by his sister and brother-in-law Susan & Al Uema of Michigan, and by dear friends Martha Cain and Ron Perkins. A memorial or tribute service will be scheduled at a date to be determined. Donations in Dan's memory can be made to UCR Foundation, PO Box 112, Riverside, CA 92502-0112, reference “Botanic Gardens General Fund.” Donate online at https://gardens.ucr.edu/giving.

Read the full article at https://cnas.ucr.edu/news/2020/09/25/memory-daniel-r-gallie.

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