Machi Dilworth information

Machi Fukuyama Dilworth (born January 3, 1945) is a Japanese and American plant biologist whose research focuses on genetic and hormonal metabolism in plants and who has been instrumental in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome sequencing project. Raised in Japan and attending university there, Dilworth moved to the United States for graduate studies and then worked at multiple universities as a research associate during the 1970s. Later hired by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), she was placed into increasing positions of influence by program director Mary Clutter and put in charge of the various plant genome projects in progress.

She used this opportunity and later positions in Japan, such as at Riken or the NSF's Tokyo Office and later the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, to advance the prospects of women in science. Her primary drive has been to increase the amount of women in Japan who go into STEM fields and contribute to scientific research. Dilworth has been noted by the American Society of Plant Biologists for her work and for being a founding member of its Legacy Society.