Keiko Torii

Keiko U. Torii, PhD is plant developmental biologist studying how positional cues influence cell-fate decisions, translating into functional tissue patterning. Currently, Torii is Professor and Johnson & Johnson Centennial Chair in Plant Cell Biology at the Department of Molecular Biosciences, The University of Texas at Austina and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator. She has been Visiting Professor at Institute of Transformative Biomolecules (WPI-ITbM) at Nagoya University, Japan. Torii earned her BS in MS, and PhD in Biological Sciences, majoring in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of Tsukuba, Japan. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) and the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), Corresponding Member of the Australian Society of Plant Scientists (ASPS), Member of the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science, and Technologies (TAMEST), and International Member of the National Academy of Sciences. Her Awards include Saruhashi Prize, Inoue Prize for Science, Asahi Prize, and Stephen Hales Prize from the ASPB. She is a recipient of the Medal of Honor with Purple Ribbon, conferred by the Emperor of Japan.