Pamela Ronald#Xa21: Pattern recognition receptor-mediated immunity

{{external media | width = 210px | float = right | headerimage= | audio1 = [https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/podcast/genetic-engineering-and-organic-farming-an-unexpected-marriage “Episode 203: Genetic Engineering and Organic Farming: An Unexpected Marriage” (includes interview with Pamela C. Ronald and Raoul Adamchak)], Science History Institute | video1= [http://www.ted.com/talks/pamela_ronald_the_case_for_engineering_our_food “Pamela Ronald: The Case for Engineering our Food“], TED Talks | video2= [https://vimeo.com/27023498 “GMOrganic: A Botanical Love Story“] }}

Pamela Christine Ronald was born on January 29, 1961, to Patricia (née Fobes) and Robert Ronald of San Mateo, California. Robert Ronald, a Jewish refugee who was born Robert Rosenthal, wrote a memoir entitled Last Train to Freedom.{{cite news|last1=Horowitz|first1=Sarah|title=Survivor recalls escape on the 'last train to freedom'|work=JWeekly|date=October 16, 1998|url=http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/9269/survivor-recalls-escape-on-the-last-train-to-freedom/}}{{cite book|last1=Ronald|first1=Robert|title=Last train to freedom : a story of a Holocaust survivor's travels to America|date=1997|publisher=R. Ronald|location=California|isbn=9780966067705|edition=1st}} From an early age, Ronald spent time backpacking in the Sierra Nevada wilderness, sparking her love for plant biology.{{cite journal|last1=Summers|first1=Holly|title=Bacteria Talk, Plants Listen: The Discovery of Plant Immune Receptors, an Interview with Pamela Ronald|journal=Scientific American|date=April 22, 2012|url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/bacteria-talk-plants-listen-the-discovery-of-plant-immune-receptors-an-interview-with-dr-pamela-ronald/|access-date=22 January 2016}} Ronald realized that analyzing and studying plants could be a profession after witnessing botanists in the field during a summer time hike with her brother. She already knew she loved plants after time spent helping her mother tend to them in the garden.{{Cite journal|last=Temple|first=James|date=7 August 2017|title=Reinventing Rice for a World Transformed by Climate Change|journal=MIT Technology Review|volume=120|issue=4|pages=15}}

As a student at Reed College with Helen Stafford (1922–2011),{{cite news|last1=Barton|first1=Randall S.|title=Bio Prof Bequeaths Fortune to Reed|url=http://www.reed.edu/reed_magazine/june2012/articles/features/stafford.html|access-date=22 January 2016|work=Reed Magazine|date=June 2, 2012}} Ronald became intrigued by the interactions of plants with other organisms. For her senior thesis, she studied the recolonization of Mount St. Helens. Ronald received a B.A. in Biology from Reed College in 1982.{{cite web|title=Mount St. Helens Research Bibliography Spring 2005|url=http://www.fs.fed.us/pnw/mtsthelens/publications/MSH%20Research%20Bibliography.pdf|access-date=December 11, 2017}}{{cite book|last1=Ronald|first1=Pamela|title=The mycorrhizae of Mount Saint Helens: a study of fungal recolonization (B.A. thesis)|date=1982|publisher=Reed College|location=Portland, Oregon}}

She went on to earn an M.A. in Biology from Stanford University in 1984 and an M.S. from Uppsala University, Sweden in plant physiology in 1985. As a Fulbright Scholar in Sweden with Nils Fries, she studied how plants interact with mycorrhizal fungi.

As a graduate student at UC Berkeley, she began to study plant-bacterial interactions in the laboratory of Brian Staskawicz, working with peppers and tomatoes.{{cite journal|last1=Lemaux|first1=Peggy|last2=Suslow|first2=Trevor|title=UC contributes biotech breakthroughs|journal=California Agriculture|date=1998|volume=52|issue=6|pages=6–7|url=http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.org/landingpage.cfm?article=ca.v052n06p6&fulltext=yes|access-date=22 January 2016|doi=10.3733/ca.v052n06p6|doi-broken-date=2024-11-21 |doi-access=free}} Because rice is the most important food staple in the world, she switched her studies to rice, hoping to contribute to the well-being of farmers in impoverished regions of the world. She received her Ph.D. in molecular and physiological plant biology in 1990. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University from 1990 to 1992 in the laboratory of Steven Tanksley.

In 1996 she married Raoul Adamchak, an organic farmer.{{cite web|title=Pam Ronald & Raoul Adamchak|url=http://www.tedmed.com/speakers/show?id=526385|website=TEDMED|access-date=21 January 2016}} They have two children, Cliff and Audrey.{{cite book|last1=Ronald|first1=Pamela C.|last2=Adamchak|first2=R. W.|title=Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics, and the Future of Food|date=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford|isbn=978-0195393576|url=http://base.dnsgb.com.ua/files/book/Agriculture/Organic-Agriculture/Tomorrows-Table-Organic-Farming.pdf|access-date=21 January 2016}}

File:March for Science San Francisco 20170422-4376.jpg San Francisco, April 2017]]

In 1992, Ronald joined UC Davis as a faculty member. From 2003 to 2007 Ronald chaired the UC Davis Distinguished Women in Science seminar series, an event designed to support women's professional advancement in the sciences. She served as Faculty Assistant to the Provost from 2004 to 2007.{{cite web|title=Curriculum Vitae of Pamela C. Ronald|url=http://research.missouri.edu/about/files/vcr_files/ronald_cv.pdf|website=University of Missouri|access-date=22 January 2016}}

Ronald is a vocal advocate for science and for sustainable agriculture. Her laboratory has been instrumental in the development of rice that is disease-resistant and flood-tolerant.{{cite journal|last1=Ronald|first1=Pamela|last2=Adamchak|first2=Raoul|title=The future of sustainable food production|journal=Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences|date=March 2010|volume=1190|issue=1|pages=184–185|doi=10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05261.x|pmid=20388151|bibcode=2010NYASA1190..184R|s2cid=205933736|url=http://indica.ucdavis.edu/publication/reference/Ronald_NYAS_2010.pdf|access-date=22 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613010924/http://indica.ucdavis.edu/publication/reference/Ronald_NYAS_2010.pdf|archive-date=13 June 2010|url-status=dead}}

The Ronald laboratory studies the innate immune response, using the host organism rice and the agriculturally important pathogen Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). In the 1990s, through conversations with rice geneticist Gurdev Khush, Ronald became interested in the rice XA21 genetic locus, which conferred broad-spectrum resistance to Xoo.Ikeda R et al. 1990. A new resistance gene to bacterial blight derived from O. longistaminata. Jap. J. Breed, 280-281Khush G.S. et al. 1990. A new gene for resistance to bacterial blight from O. longistaminata. Rice Genetics Newsletter, 121-122 She hypothesized that Xa21 encoded a single protein that recognized a conserved microbial determinant.{{cite journal |last1=Ronald |first1=P.C.|year=1992 |title=Genetic and physical analysis of the rice bacterial blight disease resistance locus, Xa21 |url= https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0r38c0c1|journal=Mol Gen Genet |volume=236 |issue= 1|pages=113–120|doi=10.1007/BF00279649|pmid=1362973|s2cid=18045168|display-authors=etal}}

In 1995, the Ronald laboratory isolated and characterized the rice XA21 pattern recognition receptor.{{cite journal|last1=Song|first1=W.-Y.|last2=Wang|first2=G.-L.|last3=Chen|first3=L.-L.|last4=Kim|first4=H.-S.|last5=Pi|first5=L.-Y.|last6=Holsten|first6=T.|last7=Gardner|first7=J.|last8=Wang|first8=B.|last9=Zhai|first9=W.-X.|last10=Zhu|first10=L.-H.|last11=Fauquet|first11=C.|last12=Ronald|first12=P.|title=A Receptor Kinase-Like Protein Encoded by the Rice Disease Resistance Gene, Xa21|journal=Science|date=15 December 1995|volume=270|issue=5243|pages=1804–1806|doi=10.1126/science.270.5243.1804|pmid=8525370|bibcode=1995Sci...270.1804S|s2cid=10548988|url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/4x0247kj|url-access=subscription}}{{cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=S.-W.|last2=Han|first2=S.-W.|last3=Sririyanum|first3=M.|last4=Park|first4=C.-J.|last5=Seo|first5=Y.-S.|last6=Ronald|first6=P. C.|title=A Type I-Secreted, Sulfated Peptide Triggers XA21-Mediated Innate Immunity|journal=Science|date=5 November 2009|volume=326|issue=5954|pages=850–853|doi=10.1126/science.1173438|pmid=19892983|bibcode=2009Sci...326..850L|s2cid=8726419}}{{Retracted|doi=10.1126/science.342.6155.191-a|pmid=24115421|http://retractionwatch.com/2013/10/10/ronald-science/ Retraction Watch|intentional=yes}} Subsequent discoveries in flies,{{cite journal|last1=Lemaitre|first1=Bruno|last2=Nicolas|first2=Emmanuelle|last3=Michaut|first3=Lydia|last4=Reichhart|first4=Jean-Marc|last5=Hoffmann|first5=Jules A|title=The Dorsoventral Regulatory Gene Cassette spätzle/Toll/cactus Controls the Potent Antifungal Response in Drosophila Adults|journal=Cell|date=September 1996|volume=86|issue=6|pages=973–983|doi=10.1016/S0092-8674(00)80172-5|pmid=8808632|s2cid=10736743|url=http://infoscience.epfl.ch/record/151754|doi-access=free}} humans,{{cite journal|last1=Janeway|first1=Charles A.|last2=Medzhitov|first2=Ruslan|last3=Preston-Hurlburt|first3=Paula|journal=Nature|date=24 July 1997|volume=388|issue=6640|pages=394–397|doi=10.1038/41131|pmid=9237759|title=A human homologue of the Drosophila Toll protein signals activation of adaptive immunity |bibcode=1997Natur.388..394M|s2cid=4311321|doi-access=free}} mice,{{cite journal|last1=Poltorak|first1=A.|title=Defective LPS Signaling in C3H/HeJ and C57BL/10ScCr Mice: Mutations in Tlr4 Gene|journal=Science|date=11 December 1998|volume=282|issue=5396|pages=2085–2088|doi=10.1126/science.282.5396.2085 |pmid=9851930|bibcode=1998Sci...282.2085P |s2cid=40330571|display-authors=etal}} and Arabidopsis{{cite journal|last1=Gómez-Gómez|first1=Lourdes|last2=Boller|first2=Thomas|title=FLS2: an LRR receptor-like kinase involved in the perception of the bacterial elicitor flagellin in Arabidopsis|journal=Molecular Cell|date=June 2000|volume=5|issue=6|pages=1003–1011|doi=10.1016/S1097-2765(00)80265-8|pmid=10911994|doi-access=free}} revealed that animals and other plant species also carry membrane-anchored receptors with striking structural similarities to XA21 and that these receptors also play key roles in the immune response.{{cite journal|last1=Ronald|first1=P. C.|last2=Beutler|first2=B.|title=Plant and Animal Sensors of Conserved Microbial Signatures|journal=Science|date=18 November 2010|volume=330|issue=6007|pages=1061–1064|doi=10.1126/science.1189468|pmid=21097929|bibcode=2010Sci...330.1061R|s2cid=18311102|url=http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/9q96r8gz}} For their discoveries of the fly and mice receptors, Jules Hoffman and Bruce Beutler received the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (jointly with Ralph Steinman), indicating the importance of such research.{{cite web|title=The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2011 Bruce A. Beutler, Jules A. Hoffmann, Ralph M. Steinman|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2011/press.html|website=Nobelprize.org|access-date=22 January 2016}}

This work resulted in part from the identification of a blight-resistant rice strain from Mali, Oryza longistaminata, in the late 1970s. The strain was studied and bred at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Los Baños, Philippines. Ronald's group subsequently mapped, sequenced, and cloned the Xa21 gene from this rice strain. When US patent 5859339 was granted to the University of California for the XA21 gene, Ronald and law professor John Barton established a benefit-sharing model for the source countries of genetically important plant varieties called the Genetic Resources Recognition Fund. Ronald also launched a project with CGIAR to allow noncommercial use of the gene for nonprofit purposes and released the gene to IRRI for the development of rice strains to be grown in developing nations.{{cite news|last1=Perlman|first1=David|title=Rice-Gene Scientist Sharing Success With Poor Nations|url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Rice-Gene-Scientist-Sharing-Success-With-Poor-2839463.php|access-date=22 January 2016|work=San Francisco Chronicle|date=May 26, 1997}}{{cite book|last1=Kate|first1=Kerry ten|last2=Laird|first2=Sarah A.|title=The commercial use of biodiversity : access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing|date=2000|publisher=Earthscan Publ.|location=London|isbn=978-1853833342|page=148|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-yRfL4Q_t0cC&pg=PA148|access-date=22 January 2016}}

File:Pamela Ronald at Pop!Tech 2008.jpg

In 2009 and 2011,{{cite journal|last1=Han|first1=Sang-Wook|last2=Sriariyanun|first2=Malinee|last3=Lee|first3=Sang-Won|last4=Sharma|first4=Manoj|last5=Bahar|first5=Ofir|last6=Bower|first6=Zachary|last7=Ronald|first7=Pamela C.|last8=Chakravortty|first8=Dipshikha|title=Small Protein-Mediated Quorum Sensing in a Gram-Negative Bacterium|journal=PLOS ONE|date=12 December 2011|volume=6|issue=12|pages=e29192|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0029192|pmid=22174954|pmc=3236232|bibcode=2011PLoSO...629192H|doi-access=free}} {{Retracted|doi=10.1371/annotation/880a72e1-9cf3-45a9-bf1c-c74ccb73fd35|pmid=24098628|http://retractionwatch.com/2013/09/11/doing-the-right-thing-researchers-retract-quorum-sensing-paper-after-public-process/ Retraction Watch|intentional=yes }} Ronald's laboratory reported on the discovery of a bacterial protein that they believed was the activator of Xa21-mediated immunity. These reports were described by ScienceWatch as "hot" and "highly cited".{{cite journal|title=Pamela Ronald on New Discoveries in Rice Research|date=March 2011|journal=Science Watch|url=http://archive.sciencewatch.com/dr/nhp/2011/11marnhp/11marnhpRona/|access-date=22 January 2016}} In 2013, Ronald retracted both scientific papers, notifying the scientific community that two bacterial strains had been mixed up.{{cite web |url=http://retractionwatch.com/2013/09/11/doing-the-right-thing-researchers-retract-quorum-sensing-paper-after-public-process/ | title=Doing the right thing: Researchers retract quorum sensing paper after public process |work=Retraction Watch| date=11 September 2013 |access-date=2016-01-22}}{{cite web |url=http://retractionwatch.com/2013/10/10/ronald-science/#more-15950/ |title=Pamela Ronald does the right thing again, retracting a Science paper |work=Retraction Watch|date=10 October 2013 |access-date=2016-01-05}} The error was discovered when new laboratory members Rory Pruitt and Benjamin Schwessinger were unable to replicate previous results. As a result, the laboratory carried out a lengthy and painstaking process, re-confirming the genotypes of all the laboratory strains in their collection. Examination of the bacterial strains and rice seed stocks indicated that one of the bacterial strains involved in key experiments had been mislabeled. Researchers also discovered that results of one of the tests that had been performed were highly variable. In a blog post at Scientific American, Ronald describes the 18-month process leading to the retraction.{{cite web |first= Pamela |last=Ronald |date= October 10, 2013| title=Lab Life: The Anatomy of a Retraction |work=Scientific American |url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/food-matters/2013/10/10/lab-life-the-anatomy-of-a-retraction/ |access-date=2016-01-05}} The retractions were also reported on by The Scientist.{{cite journal|last1=Yong|first1=Ed|title=Mislabeled Microbes Cause Two Retractions|journal=The Scientist|date=October 10, 2013|url=http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/37843/title/Mislabeled-Microbes-Cause-Two-Retractions/}} Retraction watch, a website that shines light on problems with papers and educates and celebrates research ethics and good practices stated, "that this was a case of scientists doing the right thing". As part of a story about the importance of setting the record straight, in 2014, Nature magazine also covered the Ronald retraction.{{cite journal|last1=Gewin|first1=Virginia|title=Retractions: A clean slate|journal=Nature|date=19 March 2014|volume=507|issue=7492|pages=389–391|doi=10.1038/nj7492-389a|pmid=24654274|doi-access=free}}

For two more years Ronald's laboratory repeated critical experiments and carried out new ones. In redoing their work, they introduced new procedures and controls to ensure that they were getting it right. Ronald reports that she was amazed not only by the perseverance and loyalty of her team, but also by the community support that she received during this difficult time.{{cite web |url=http://retractionwatch.com/2015/07/24/qa-with-pamela-ronald-redemption-after-retraction/ |title=What do you do after painful retractions? Q&A with Pamela Ronald and Benjamin Schwessinger |date=2015-07-24 |website=Retractionwatch.com|access-date=2016-01-05}} In 2015, Ronald published the discovery of the predicted ligand of XA21, a sulfated peptide called RaxX, correcting their mistake and bringing the research team full circle.{{cite journal|last1=Gewin|first1=Virginia|title=Rice researchers redress retraction|journal=Nature|date=24 July 2015|doi=10.1038/nature.2015.18055|s2cid=182688006|url=http://www.nature.com/news/rice-researchers-redress-retraction-1.18055|access-date=22 January 2016|doi-access=free}}{{cite journal|last1=Pruitt|first1=R. N.|last2=Schwessinger|first2=B.|last3=Joe|first3=A.|last4=Thomas|first4=N.|last5=Liu|first5=F.|last6=Albert|first6=M.|last7=Robinson|first7=M. R.|last8=Chan|first8=L. J. G.|last9=Luu|first9=D. D.|last10=Chen|first10=H.|last11=Bahar|first11=O.|last12=Daudi|first12=A.|last13=De Vleesschauwer|first13=D.|last14=Caddell|first14=D.|last15=Zhang|first15=W.|last16=Zhao|first16=X.|last17=Li|first17=X.|last18=Heazlewood|first18=J. L.|last19=Ruan|first19=D.|last20=Majumder|first20=D.|last21=Chern|first21=M.|last22=Kalbacher|first22=H.|last23=Midha|first23=S.|last24=Patil|first24=P. B.|last25=Sonti|first25=R. V.|last26=Petzold|first26=C. J.|last27=Liu|first27=C. C.|last28=Brodbelt|first28=J. S.|last29=Felix|first29=G.|last30=Ronald|first30=P. C.|title=The rice immune receptor XA21 recognizes a tyrosine-sulfated protein from a Gram-negative bacterium|journal=Science Advances|date=24 July 2015|volume=1|issue=6|pages=e1500245|doi=10.1126/sciadv.1500245|pmid=26601222|pmc=4646787|bibcode=2015SciA....1E0245P}}{{cite journal |last1=Luu |first1=D |last2=Joe |first2=Anna |last3=Chen |first3=Yan |last4=Bahar |first4=Ofir |last5=Pruitt |first5=Rory |last6=Chen |first6=Leanne Jade G. |last7=Petzold |first7=Christopher J. |last8=Long |first8=Kelsey |last9=Adamchak |first9=Cliff |last10=Stewart |first10=Valley |last11=Ronald |first11=Pamela C. |title=Biosynthesis and secretion of the microbial sulfated peptide RaxX and binding to the rice XA21 immune receptor |journal=PNAS |date=4 April 2019 |volume=116 |issue=17 |pages=8525–8534 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1818275116 |pmid=30948631 |pmc=6486716 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2019PNAS..116.8525L }}

Ronald has sought ways to recognize source nations and institutions that have contributed to important scientific advances, such as the West African country of Mali, the source of the Xa21 rice gene. Working with law professor John Barton, Ronald tried to establish a benefit-sharing model for the source countries of genetically important plant varieties. In 1996, Ronald founded the Genetic Resources Recognition Fund (GRRF) at UC Davis. The intention of the fund was to collect payments from the licensing of academic discoveries that utilized plant materials from developing countries, and to redistribute those monies to source countries through fellowships, land conservation efforts, or other projects of benefit to nation partners.{{rp|142–147}}{{cite journal|last1=Ronald|first1=P. C.|title=Genetic Resource Recognition Fund|journal=AgBiotech News and Information|date=1998|volume=10|issue=1|pages=19N–21N|publisher=CAB International|citeseerx=10.1.1.385.8086}}{{cite web|last1=Brush|first1=Stephen B.|title=The Lighthouse and the Potato: Internalizing the Value of Crop Genetic Diversity, Working Paper No. 37|date=March 2002|publisher=University of Massachusetts Amherst|url=http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1024&context=peri_workingpapers|access-date=22 January 2016}}

In 1996, Ronald began a project with rice breeder David Mackill who had recently demonstrated that tolerance to complete submergence mapped to the Submergence tolerance 1 (Sub1) Quantitative trait locus (QTL). In 1997, the USDA awarded Ronald and Mackill a grant to isolate the Sub1 locus. Ronald's laboratory led the positional cloning of the Sub1 QTL, revealed that it carried three ethylene response transcription factors (ERF) and demonstrated that one of the ERFs, which she designated Sub1A, was upregulated rapidly in response to submergence and conferred robust tolerance to submergence in transgenic plants .{{cite journal |pmid=16900200 |doi=10.1038/nature04920 |volume=442 |issue=7103 |title=Sub1A is an ethylene-response-factor-like gene that confers submergence tolerance to rice |date=August 2006 |journal=Nature |pages=705–8 | last1 = Xu | first1 = K | last2 = Xu | first2 = X | last3 = Fukao | first3 = T |bibcode=2006Natur.442..705X |s2cid=4404518 |display-authors=etal |url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt32v0k1pq/qt32v0k1pq.pdf?t=myetzf }} This work revealed an important mechanism with which plants control tolerance to abiotic stress and set the stage for in-depth molecular-genetic analyses of Sub1A-mediated processes with her collaborator Julia Bailey-Serres, who joined the project in 2003.{{cite journal |last1=Jung |year=2010 |title=The submergence tolerance regulator Sub1A mediates stress-responsive expression of AP2/ERF transcription factors |journal=Plant Physiology |volume=152 |issue=3 |pages=1674–1692 |pmc=2832257 |pmid=20107022 |doi=10.1104/pp.109.152157|display-authors=etal}}{{cite journal |last1=Fukao |first1=T.|year=2006 |title=A variable cluster of ethylene response factor-like genes regulates metabolic and developmental acclimation responses to submergence in rice |journal=Plant Cell |volume=18 |issue=8 |pages=2021–2034 |pmc=1533987 |pmid=16816135 |doi=10.1105/tpc.106.043000|bibcode=2006PlanC..18.2021F |display-authors=etal}}{{cite journal |last1=Seo |first1=Y.S. |year=2011 |title=Towards establishment of a rice stress response interactome |journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=1–12 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1002020 |pmid=21533176 |pmc=3077385 |doi-access=free }} Mackill's team at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) generated and released several Sub1A varieties (developed through marker-assisted breeding) in seven countries including India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, where submergence destroys four million tons of rice each year, enough to feed 30 million people.{{cite news|last1=Voosen|first1=Paul|title=Quiet Biotech Revolution Transforming Crops|url=https://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/12/21/21greenwire-quiet-biotech-revolution-transforming-crops-15902.html?pagewanted=all|access-date=22 January 2016|work=The New York Times|date=December 21, 2009}} With support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,{{cite web|title=Pamela Ronald Professor of Plant Pathology, University of California, Davis|url=http://thebreakthrough.org/people/profile/pamela-ronald|website=The Breakthrough Institute|access-date=22 January 2016}} Sub1 rice has reached over six million farmers as of 2017.{{cite news |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/green-revolution/ |last=Folger | first=Tim |title=The Next Green Revolution |work=National Geographic|date=2014|issue=October 2014}}{{cite web |last1=Ronald |first1=Pamela |title=The biggest hurdle genetically engineered food faces isn't science—it's us |url=https://qz.com/1383632/the-biggest-hurdle-genetically-engineered-food-faces-isnt-science-its-us/ |website=The Future of Food |date=3 October 2018 |publisher=Quartz |access-date=16 May 2019}}{{cite web |title=Stress-Tolerant Rice for South Asia |url=http://books.irri.org/Stress-tolerant-brochure.pdf |website=International Rice Research Institute |access-date=16 May 2019}}

File:Pamela Ronald and Raoul Adamchak on the UC Davis certified organic farm. Photo credit Pico van Houtryve, picophotos.jpg

Ronald co-authored the book Tomorrow's Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food with her husband, Raoul Adamchak. Tomorrow's Table was selected as one of the best books of 2008 by Seed Magazine{{cite journal|title=Seed Picks 2008: Seed Picks 2008 Seed Picks Seed selects the year's outstanding book releases, from Mary Roach's sex book, Bonk, to E.O. Wilson's ant colony opus, The Superorganism|journal=Seed Magazine|date=December 23, 2008|url=http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/seed_picks_20083/P3/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428114641/http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/seed_picks_20083/P3|url-status=unfit|archive-date=April 28, 2009}} and the Library Journal.{{cite web|title=Tomorrow's table (Review)|url=http://bookverdict.com/details.xqy?uri=Product-84741785912389.xml|website=Library Journal|access-date=April 15, 2008}} Bill Gates calls the book "a fantastic piece of work" and "important for anyone that wants to learn about the science of seeds and challenges faced by farmers."{{cite web |last1=Gates |first1=Bill |title=The New Science of Feeding the World |url=http://www.thegatesnotes.com/Learning/article.aspx?ID=117 |website=The Gates Notes |publisher=The Gates Notes LLC |access-date=16 May 2019 |ref=Gates Notes |date=8 March 2010}} This book describes how genetically engineered crops are made and provides helpful tips about organic farming and crop production in general.{{Cite journal |last1=Thomas |first1=Phil |last2=Akhavan |first2=Jacqueline |date=2009-06-08 |title=Growing good ideas |journal=Chemistry & Industry |issue=11 |pages=29–30}}

In addition to her scholarly publications, Ronald has written for The New York Times,{{cite news|last1=Ronald|first1=Pamela|last2=McWilliams|first2=James E.|title=Genetically Engineered Distortions|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/15/opinion/15ronald.html|access-date=22 January 2016|work=The New York Times|date=May 14, 2010}} The Boston Globe,{{cite web|url=https://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2008/03/16/the_new_organic/?page=full |title=The new organic: The future of food may depend on an unlikely marriage: organic farmers and genetic engineering |first=Pamela |last=Ronald |website=Indica.ucdavis.edu |date=March 16, 2008| access-date=2016-01-05}} Forbes Magazine,{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2012/08/12/would-rachel-carson-embrace-frankenfoods-this-scientist-believes-yes/ |title=Would Rachel Carson Embrace 'Frankenfoods'? - This Scientist Believes 'Yes' |first=Pamela |last=Ronald | date=August 12, 2012 |work=Forbes|access-date=2016-01-05}} Scientific American,{{cite journal|last1=Ronald|first1=Pamela|title=Making Rice Disease-Resistant|journal=Scientific American|date=1997|volume=277|issue=November|pages=100–105|doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1197-100|bibcode=1997SciAm.277e.100R|url=http://indica.ucdavis.edu/publication/reference/Ronald_Scientific_American_1997.pdf|access-date=22 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613011805/http://indica.ucdavis.edu/publication/reference/Ronald_Scientific_American_1997.pdf|archive-date=13 June 2010|url-status=dead}} The Harvard International Review,{{cite journal|last1=Ronald|first1=Pamela|title=Foreign "Invaders"|journal=Harvard International Review|date=October 26, 2009|url=http://hir.harvard.edu/agricultureforeign-invaders/|access-date=22 January 2016|archive-date=28 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528211025/http://hir.harvard.edu/agricultureforeign-invaders/|url-status=dead}} The Economist, the Boston review{{cite news |url=http://www.bostonreview.net/forum/pamela-ronald-gmo-food |title=The Truth About GMOs |work= The Boston Review|first=Pamela |last=Ronald|date=September 6, 2013}} and the MIT Technology Review.{{cite web |url=http://www.technologyreview.com/view/528331/how-scare-tactics-on-gmo-foods-hurt-everybody/ |title=How Scare Tactics on GMO Foods Hurt Everybody |first=Pamela |last=Ronald|date=June 12, 2014 |work=MIT Technology Review|access-date=2016-01-05}}

Ronald serves on several institute boards, advisory committees and editorial boards, including Current Biology, the PLOS Biology Editorial Board, and the Editorial Board of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.{{cite web |title=PLOS Biology |url=https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/s/editorial-board |website=journals.plos.org |access-date=8 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Editorial Board |url=https://www.pnas.org/about/editorial-board |website=PNAS |access-date=8 May 2025 |language=en}} She is a Member of the National Academies’ Committee on Understanding and Addressing Misinformation about Science and a founding Member of the Advisory Council of the [https://www.nationalfoodmuseum.org/ National Food Museum].{{cite web |title=Understanding and Addressing Misinformation about Science |url=https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/understanding-and-addressing-misinformation-about-science |website=www.nationalacademies.org |access-date=8 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Advisory Council |url=https://www.nationalfoodmuseum.org/advisors/ |website=National Food Museum |access-date=8 May 2025}} She serves as chair of the Scientific and Technological Committee, Priority Research and Equipment Programme in Advanced Plant Breeding, at the French National Research Agency. In 2025, Ronald joined the National Academy of Sciences’s Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR) to provide advice on requests and inquiries from Congress, federal, and state agencies and identify frontiers of science and policy in the food, agricultural, and natural resources system.{{cite web |title=About the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources |url=https://www.nationalacademies.org/banr/about |website=www.nationalacademies.org |access-date=8 May 2025}}

Ronald is a former Chair of Section G, Biological Sciences, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and of the American Society of Plant Biology Public Affairs Committee. She is also former member of the John Innes Centre Science and Impact Advisory Board, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center Scientific Advisory Board and the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Biology Scientific Advisory Board. In 2024, Ronald participated in The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center Residency, where she developed strategies to optimize carbon transfer from plants to soil mineral-microbial complexes.{{cite web |title=Bellagio Residents: Pamela Ronald |url=https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/profiles/pamela-ronald/ |website=The Rockefeller Foundation |access-date=8 May 2025}}

With her collaborators, Ronald received the 2008 USDA National Research Initiative Discovery Award & the 2012 Tech Award for the innovative use of technology to benefit humanity.{{cite web |title=The Tech Awards {{!}} Technology Benefiting Humanity |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102235757/http://thetechawards.thetech.org/the-laureates/stories/1732 |website=web.archive.org |access-date=8 May 2025 |date=2 January 2013}}  Ronald was named a National Geographic Innovator and one of Grist’s 50 innovators who will lead us toward a more sustainable future.{{cite web |last1=Berlin |first1=Jeremy |title=Can This Scientist Unite Genetic Engineers and Organic Farmers? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/150502-nginnovators-rice-genetic-engineering-gm-organic-farming-pamela-ronald |website=National Geographic |access-date=8 May 2025 |language=en |date=8 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Pamela Ronald {{!}} Grist 50 2016 – Grist 50 |url=https://grist.org/grist-50/profile/pamela-ronald/ |website=Grist |access-date=8 May 2025}} She received the Louis Malassis International Scientific Prize for Agriculture and Food, and was named one of the world’s 100 most influential people in biotechnology by Scientific American.{{cite web |title=The Worldview 100 {{!}} The visionaries who continue to reshape biotechnology—and the world |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112123310/http://www.saworldview.com/worldview-100/the-worldview-100/ |website=web.archive.org |access-date=8 May 2025 |date=12 November 2015}} Her 2015 TED talk has been viewed more than 2 million times.{{cite web |last1=Ronald |first1=Pamela |title=The case for engineering our food |url=https://www.ted.com/talks/pamela_ronald_the_case_for_engineering_our_food?language=en |website=ted |access-date=8 May 2025 |language=en |date=4 May 2015}} In 2019, she received the American Society of Plant Biologists Leadership Award and an honorary doctorate from the Swedish Agricultural University.{{cite web |title=ASPB Leadership in Science Public Service Award |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729011633/https://aspb.org/awards-funding/aspb-awards/aspb-leadership-in-science-public-service-award/ |website=web.archive.org |access-date=8 May 2025 |date=29 July 2019}}{{cite web |title=Pamela Ronald, Honorary Doctor of Agricultural Science |url=https://www.slu.se/en/about-slu/academic-ceremonies/honorary-doctors/hedersdoktorer-2019/pamela-ronald/ |website=SLU.SE |access-date=8 May 2025 |language=en}} In 2020 she was named a World Agricultural Prize Laureate by the Global Confederation of Higher Education Associations for Agricultural and Life Sciences.{{cite web |title=Professor Pamela Ronald GCHERA Laureate 2020 |url=https://www.gchera.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-GCHERA-WAP-Awards-Pamela-Ronald-Official.pdf |website=gchera |access-date=8 May 2025}} In 2022 she was awarded the Wolf Prize in Agriculture and the VinFuture Prize for outstanding female innovator.{{cite web |title=Pamela Ronald {{!}} Wolf Prize Laureate in Agriculture 2022 |url=https://wolffund.org.il/pamela-ronald/ |website=Wolf Foundation |access-date=8 May 2025 |date=8 February 2022}}{{cite web |title=Prize Council {{!}} VinFuture Prize |url=https://vinfutureprize.org/prize-councils/ |website=Vinfuture Prize |access-date=8 May 2025}} In 2025, she received  an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Stanford President's Award for the Advancement of the Common Good, which celebrates the work and commitment of alumni making a positive difference in their communities and the world. Ronald is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry and, as of 2025, the French Academy of Agriculture .{{cite web |title=Pamela C. Ronald – NAS |url=https://www.nasonline.org/directory-entry/pamela-c-ronald-gygap0/ |website=nasonline |access-date=8 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=Pamela C. Ronald {{!}} American Academy of Arts and Sciences |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/pamela-c-ronald |website=www.amacad.org |access-date=8 May 2025 |language=en |date=6 May 2025}}{{cite web |title=New members in KSLA's General Department |url=https://www.ksla.se/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Pressmeddelande-inval-KSLA-Allm_2022-11-10.pdf |website=The Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry |access-date=8 May 2025}}

• 1984–1985, Fulbright Fellow{{cite web|title=Pam Ronald Interview|url=http://www.silentkillerfilm.org/interview_ronald.html|website=Silent Killer: The Unfinished Campaign Against Hunger|access-date=22 January 2016}}
• 1999–2000, Guggenheim Fellowship{{cite web|title=John Simon Guggenheim Fellowships|url=http://www.reed.edu/ir/guggenheimwaward.html|website=Reed College|access-date=22 January 2016}}
• 2006 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS){{cite web |title=AAAS Fellows, 2006 |url=http://www.aaas.org/sites/default/files/AnnualReports/2006/aaas_ar06_2223_fellows.pdf |access-date=23 January 2016 |website=Annual Report, AAAS}}
• 2006 Fellow at the Davis Humanities Institute
• 2008 Fellow, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)
• 2008 USDA National Research Initiative Discovery Award{{cite web|title=USDA's Discovery Award honors rice research|website=SeedQuest|date=December 2, 2008|url=https://www.seedquest.com/News/releases/2008/december/24442.htm|access-date=22 January 2016}}
• 2008 Tomorrow's Table selected as one of SEED Magazine's Best Books of 2008, Library Journal's Best Sci-Tech Books of 2008
• 2009 Science in Society Journalism Award from the National Association of Science Writers in Society for her commentary "The New Organic" of March 16, 2008, on the Boston Globe website{{cite web|url=http://www.nasw.org/2009-science-society-awards |title=2009 Science in Society Awards | ScienceWriters |website=NASW.org |access-date=2016-01-05}}
• 2011 Charles Valentine Riley lecturer (Selected by the AAAS, US National Academies, Riley Foundation and the World Food Prize Committee){{cite web |url=http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2011/0712riley_lecture.shtml |title=Pamela C. Ronald: Global Food Crisis Requires New Technologies, Cooperation |date=12 July 2011|first=Warren|last= Leary |work=Aaas.org|access-date=2016-01-05}}
• 2011 Fast Company magazine named Ronald one of the 100 most creative people.^[73]
• 2012 Fulbright-Tocqueville Distinguished Chair Award, Université de Montpellier 2 and the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement{{cite web |url=http://www.fulbright-france.org/docs/2012144507_biodatas1213.pdf |title=American Fulbright Grantees to France, Academic Year 2012-2013 |website=Fulbright |access-date=2016-01-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121216235726/http://www.fulbright-france.org/docs/2012144507_biodatas1213.pdf |archive-date=2012-12-16 |url-status=dead }}
• 2012, Louis Malassis International Scientific Prize for Agriculture and Food{{cite web |url=http://www.agropolis-fondation.fr/news/111/186/2012-Louis-Malassis-International-Scientific-Prize-winners-announced.html |title=2012 Louis Malassis International Scientific Prize winners announced |work=Agropolis-fondation.fr|access-date=2016-01-05}}
• 2012 The Tech Award: Technology Benefiting Humanity{{cite web|title=California Scientists Honored Humanitarian rice research is making a difference|url=http://www.ricefarming.com/departments/feature/california-scientists-honored/|website=Rice Farming|date=January 2013|access-date=22 January 2016}}
• 2012 Tomorrow's Table selected by the New Earth Archive Booklist as one of the 25 books selected in 2012 that educate, inspire, and drive change
• 2015 Selected by National Geographic as an innovator who is transforming her field of research "by creating, educating, provoking, and delighting"{{cite web |last1=Berlin |first1=Jeremy |title=Can This Scientist Unite Genetic Engineers and Organic Farmers? |url=https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150502-nginnovators-rice-genetic-engineering-gm-organic-farming-pamela-ronald/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506035509/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/05/150502-nginnovators-rice-genetic-engineering-gm-organic-farming-pamela-ronald/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 6, 2015 |website=National Geographic Innovators |publisher=National Geographic |access-date=16 May 2019}}
• 2015 Scientific American named Ronald one of the World's 100 most influential people in biotechnology{{cite web|url=http://saworldview.com/worldview-100/the-worldview-100|title=The Worldview 100|website=Scientific American|access-date=2016-01-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703095805/http://www.saworldview.com/worldview-100/the-worldview-100/|archive-date=2015-07-03|url-status=dead}}
• 2016 Named one of the 50 innovators and visionaries who will lead us toward a more sustainable future by Grist magazine{{cite web |title=Grist 50 2016 |url=https://grist.org/grist-50/profile/pamela-ronald/ |website=Grist |access-date=16 May 2019}}
• 2016 Ronald named [http://thebreakthrough.org/people/profile/pamela-ronald Breakthrough Fellow]
• 2019 Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences{{cite web |date=30 April 2019 |title=National Academy of Sciences Elects Members and Foreign Associates; Historic Number of Women Elected to Its Membership |url=http://www.nasonline.org/news-and-multimedia/news/2019-nas-election.html |access-date=16 May 2019 |website=National Academy of Sciences Online |publisher=National Academy of Sciences}}
• 2019 Honorary Doctorate, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
• 2022 Wolf Prize in Agriculture
• 2022 Elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Agriculture and Forestry
• 2023 Paradigm Award, The Breakthrough Institute{{cite web |title=Dr. Pamela Ronald Announced as 2023 Paradigm Award Winner, 2024 |url=https://thebreakthrough.org/articles/dr-pamela-ronald-announced-as-2023-paradigm-award-winner |access-date=3 April 2025 |website=thebreakthrough}}
• 2024 Selected for a Bellagio Residency, Rockefeller Foundation{{cite web |title=Rockefeller Resident, 2024 |url=https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/profiles/pamela-ronald/ |access-date=3 April 2025 |website=Rockefeller Foundation}}
• 2024 Laureate Distinguished Fellow, International Engineering and Technology Institute{{cite web |title=Prof. Dr. Pamela Ronald (Wolf Prize in Agriculture 2022 and VinFuture Prize Laureate 2022) - 2024 Laureate Distinguished Fellow of IETI, 2024 |url=https://www.ieti.net/pro/memberdetail.aspx?ID=1045 |access-date=3 April 2025 |website=International Engineering and Technology Institute}}
• 2025 Honorary Doctorate, Hebrew University of Jerusalem{{cite web |title=Honorary Doctorate Recipients, 2024 |url=https://bog.huji.ac.il/honorees |access-date=3 April 2025 |website=Hebrew University of Jerusalem Board of Governors 2025}}
• 2025 The President’s Award for the Advancement of the Common Good, Stanford University

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