Jan E. Leach, Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Montpellier

On Friday April 3, 2026, Philippe Augé, president of the University of Montpellier, presented the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of the University of Montpellier to Jan E. Leach, university professor and emeritus researcher in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University (United States). Plant pathologist Jan E. Leach studied plant diseases, the role of microbial pathogens, and the influence of environmental conditions on the development of these diseases. The ceremony took place in the presence of two of his former students: Valérie Verdier, president and CEO of the IRD, and Lionel Gagnevin, researcher at the Plant Health Institute in Montpellier.

A culture of networks

At the Chapelle de la Visitation, now a heritage site of the University of Montpellier, Philippe Augé, president of the University of Montpellier, recalled the major scientific contributions in plant pathology of Jan E. Leach who in particular studied the impact of pathogens on rice plants, an essential food in certain geographical areas. Jan E. Leach discovered important correlations and reactions to temperature, the effects of global warming, and the development of plant parasites and pathogens impacting the loss of plant resistance. It has enabled new avenues of research at different levels. The title of Doctor Honoris Causa rewards his research and his human qualities. Over the years, Jan E. Leach has promoted fruitful exchanges, international collaborations and the transmission of knowledge. It was with emotion that Valérie Verdier and Lionel Gagnevin spoke of the importance of their meetings with Jan E. Leach.

Valérie Verdier, director of the IRD (Institute for Research on Development), said she had known Jan E. Leach since the mid-1980s, when she was his student. She expressed her admiration for his work which greatly inspired her and for his very accessible and generous personality. Attentive to others, Jan E. Leach is also committed to the promotion of women in research. Valérie Verdier indicated that the scientist, at the origin of the innovative concept of phytobiome which defines all the factors surrounding plants and their health, allowed the IRD to be a partner of the International Alliance for Research on the phytobiome which acts on food security. Jan E. Leach instilled a culture of networks. Always available, giving valuable advice, she took an interest in everyone’s lives: “ Thanks to your commitment to young researchers, you were able to establish a relationship of trust, a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing which gave future scientific generations the means to carry out their own research. » Valérie Verdier underlined her role in international scientific diplomacy: “ In a worrying time, a very sad moment in the history of the United States that is not sending good signals, your leadership will continue to advance science, exchanges and mobility between our countries in the years to come. »

“The future of the students is important and she watches over them. »

At the beginning of the 1990s, Lionel Gagnevin had by chance sent his research CV to different laboratories in the United States, because he had obtained a scholarship allowing him to go there and study there, but he was not yet a doctoral student. It was an error of understanding that made him join the laboratory of Jan E. Leach, in Kansas: “ This is where I learned scientific taste and rules, listening and curiosity, sharing », confides Lionel Gagnevin. “ The future of the students is important and she watches over them. She is a mentor and then a guardian angel. Everything I learned, my role was to take it away and spread it to other students », Specified the researcher from the Plant Health Institute in Montpellier.

In the second part of the ceremony, Jan E. Leach returned to her journey. She explained that after obtaining her first diplomas, she did not only want to work in the Laboratory, and that for years, she had never left the United States. While working for a beer brand, at the yeast level, her research began to internationalize, and she welcomed a student from Africa into her laboratory, then students from all over the world, and of course traveled. What is essential to him is the sharing of scientific work so that the results can be beneficial to all individuals, beyond borders. Jan E. Leach has always worked for the exchange of scientists from different cultural environments, from up to forty-five countries -, and encouraged the crossing of points of view for the advancement of science. In her long career, she has welcomed twelve French students and produced thirty publications with French researchers.

Over the years, she has built friendly ties with her student researchers. On several occasions, she recalled that it is important to work together, because together, progress is more scientifically and humanly successful, and less impacted by commercial pressures. She concluded her speech by presenting her “world village”: a group photo with portraits of all her former students from different countries.

Fatma Alilate

Honorary Doctor Ceremony Cause: Jan E. Leach

Jan E. Leach is University Professor and Distinguished Researcher in the School of Agricultural Sciences at Colorado State University, a member of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, the American Phytopathological Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Academy of Microbiology. Jan E. Leach has conducted research on the molecular biology of plant pathogens, particularly those affecting rice plants. Co-editor of the Annual Review of Phytopathology from 2015 to 2022.