| RefNo | EC/1987/35 |
| Previous numbers | Cert XXII, 82 |
| Level | Item |
| Title | Sawicki, Roman Mieczyslaw: certificate of election to the Royal Society |
| Date | 1982 |
| Description | Citation typed |
| Citation | Sawicki has achieved world-wide recognition studying the causes of resistance in insects to insecticides and developing strategies to prevent or delay build-up of resistance. In early pioneering work on the insecticidal action of pyrethrum constituents, he was the first to assess knockdown accurately and to demonstrate that synergists have no effect on knockdown, but increase kill by inhibiting recovery. He personally recognised the biological potential of the series of compounds which led to the development of the extremely potent synthetic pyrethroid insecticides at Rothamsted. Sawicki and his colleagues have isolated a number of factors of resistance to insecticides in the housefly by genetic means and elucidated their mode of action and practical importance. He has also studied how such factors interact and explained the reasons for the sequential development of resistance to chemically unrelated insecticides. His work on resistance in Myzus persicae led to techniques now used internationally for detecting resistance in this pest and he provided evidence for gene duplication as the most likely cause of resistance in it. He predicted the potential for rapid build-up of resistance by houseflies in the UK to the newer synthetic pyrethroids, suggested a means of preventing it and with his colleagues conclusively demonstrated its feasibility. Sawicki now leads a multi-disciplinary team whose fundamental studies of resistance are of outstanding importance because fewer new insecticides are being introduced and it is essential to preserve the efficacy of those that are available. |
| AccessStatus | Closed |
Fellows associated with this archive
| Code | PersonName | Dates |
| NA2092 | Sawicki; Roman Mieczyslaw (1930 - 1990) | 1930 - 1990 |