Professor in plant biology at the University of Fribourg and director of the university's botanical garden, Jean-Pierre Métraux has participated as a researcher in the first two phases of the NCCR Plant Survival. In the mean time, he was elected as research council in the division biology and medicine at the Swiss National Science Foundation and is a delegate of the SNF in the Review Panel. He is known for his work on plant defence mechanisms. In particular, he studied the function and biosynthesis of salicylic acid, one of the plant signals involved in the activation of defences. His current research themes include the importance of the cuticle in the resistance to fungal pathogens, as well as the molecular determinants of fungal pathogenesis and their possible interactions with elements of the innate immune response of the plant.