Pioneer Member

Henrik Stotz – I am so grateful to Sharon for letting me join her research program. I was fortunate to experience her cutting-edge research on the legume symbiosis; the cellular biology was ahead of its time. At the time, 1994-1997, I was employed as a Howard Hughes postdoctoral associate. What an amazing group of colleagues I worked with, including Melanie Barnett, Bob Fisher, David Ehrhardt, Dan Gage, Peter Covitz, Jeanne Harris, Alan Downie and many others. What a fertile working environment was generated with connections to the Yanofsky and Walbot labs. Contacts to plant physiology greats like Peter Ray, Winslow Briggs and Paul Green were also encouraged. I encountered Sharon as a most impressive, inclusive and professional lab manager. My time in the Long lab has enabled me to grow as a scientist and provided a BRIDGE for subsequent positions at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Oregon State University and now at the University of Hertfordshire. I am immensely grateful for Sharon’s influences on my career, but I also noticed how she inspired others. Sharon’s contributions to research, teaching and administration as a Dean at Stanford University were sublime. It is a privilege to keep in contact with Sharon’s team and I wish them all the very best for the future. May the Long legacy persist.