Mike Gale

Professor Mike Gale

One of the country's top plant scientists, Prof Mike Gale, who played a leading role in helping to feed the world's rapidly-expanding population, has died suddenly, aged 65.

His research into wheat genetics at the John Innes Centre was ground-breaking but he was also an inspirational promoter of international agricultural science policy.

Prof Gale, who was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in March 1996, was also honoured by the world's scientists for his outstanding contribution to cereal genetics and to crops such as wheat and millet.

He was presented with the Royal Agricultural Society of England's research medal by the Duke of Gloucester in July 1994. And four years later, he was jointly awarded the Royal Society's Darwin Medal with colleague, Dr Graham Moore.

Prof Gale, who was a Devonian by birth, went to Birmingham University and studied for his PhD at Aberystwyth before joining the Plant Breeding Institute at Cambridge in 1968. He moved to the John Innes Centre at Colney, Norwich, in 1990 after the PBI was privatised, as head of cereals research and in 1992 became director of the Cambridge Laboratory. He was the JIC's interim director in 1999 but later became associate director.

Prof Gale's scientific achievements were legion as he also unravelled the genetics of the Green Revolution semi-dwarfing genes and of pre-harvest sprouting resistance in wheat. He mapped the molecular structure of bread wheat, which has enabled plant breeders to develop higher yielding varieties.

But his impact on global science was probably as important. Since 2004, he was a member of the science council of the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research, which represents about 2,000 scientists from 100 countries and helps to coordinate global research policies.

He was passionate that better science could help to alleviate poverty in the developing world. He was a director of the Rockefeller Foundation's biotechnology progam, which transformed rice research from a scientific “orphan” into a world-beater. He encouraged the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines to use modern molecular methods in plant breeding programmes.

In 1999, he became a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and had just recently returned from a three-week lecture tour of the country talking about agricultural research.

Prof John Snape, who is head of crop genetics at the JIC, worked with him for 36 years since they had met as junior scientists.

“He was not a great one for bureaucracy. Mike was always a person to get things done and worked extremely hard to push forward science. He was a 'doer' who would find ways around bureaucracy and over bureaucracy,” he said.

“He was also a very keen golfer and even when he went to a conference in the wilds of Africa, he would find somewhere to play or go diving. He was always one to mix business with pleasure and lived life to the full,” said Prof Snape.

He played off eight and was also a good poker player, twice winning the Welsh Amateur championships. He played a round of golf at his favourite course, the Royal Norwich, and then returned later that day to join his family at the Latitude Festival, where he died.

He leaves a widow, Sue, and daughters, Hazel and Tess.

Family flowers only. Donations, if wished, for the MAP (Mancroft Advice Project) to the funeral directors, East of England Co-operative Society, St Stephen's Square, Norwich NR1 3QJ

After a private funeral service, a service of thanksgiving will be held on Friday, July 31 (3pm) at Colney Wood Burial Park, Norwich.