Boyce Thompson Institute 533 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14853-1801 607.288.3554 Capacity Curiosity Capacity Curiosity Email: [email protected] 2018 IN REVIEW Discoveries Discoveries Boyce Thompson Institute 533 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14853-1801 607.288.3554 Capacity Curiosity Capacity Curiosity Email: [email protected] 2018 IN REVIEW Discoveries Discoveries LEADERSHIP Capacity Curiosity OFFICERS Susan McCouch, Ph.D. Kira Sheinerman, Ph.D., M.B.A. Paul Chomet, Ph.D. Gregory J. Galvin, Chair Adjunct Faculty, Boyce CEO Ph.D. Paul Chomet, Vice Chair Thompson Institute DiamiR Biosciences Corp. Arthur Grossman, Staff Scientist, Carnegie David B. Stern, President and CEO Professor, Plant Breeding and Princeton, NJ Institution for Science Sophia A. Darling, MBA Treasurer Genetics Section, Managing Director, Vice President, Finance & Operations School of Integrative Plant Science Investment Banking Department of Plant Biology Adjunct Professor Stephanie Meyer, Vice President Cornell University H.C. Wainwright & Co. Advancement Ithaca, NY New York, NY Stanford University Department of Biology, Stanford, CA Amy Yanosh, Assistant Secretary, Executive Assistant Paula Mueller, Esq. Christine Smart, Ph.D. Managing Director & General Counsel Professor, Plant Pathology and Jacqueline Heard, Ph.D., M.B.A. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Parkview Wealth Management Plant-Microbe Biology Section Eric Lyons, Ph.D. Gregory J. Galvin, Ph.D. Chair New York, NY Director, School of Integrative Associate Professor Chairman and CEO, Plant Science CyVerse, BIO5 Institute Rheonix Inc., Ithaca, NY Jan Nyrop, Ph.D. Cornell University Associate Dean and Director The School of Plant Sciences Ithaca, NY University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ Paul Chomet, Ph.D., Vice Chair Cornell Agritech Strategic Consultant, College of Agriculture and John W. Townsend Christine Smart, Ph.D. Advancing NRGene, St. Louis, MO Life Sciences President Geneva, NY J.W. Townsend & Company Jane Silverthorne** “I don’t know where these experiments are going Kathryn Boor, Ph.D. New York, NY Retired – Deputy Assistant Director discoveries Ronald P. Lynch Dean, Mary Opperman Directorate for Biological Sciences, College of Agriculture and Vice President, Chief Human David B. Stern, President and CEO National Science Foundation to lead… But the possibilities! I lay awake nights for a Life Sciences Resources Officer Boyce Thompson Institute, Ithaca, NY Alexandria, VA Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Cornell University Ithaca, NY Charles H. Trautmann** sometimes, thinking about them.” - W.B. Thompson Discoveries healthier April Burke Department of Human Development President, Roy H. Park, Jr. Cornell University, Ithaca, NY *We are grateful for the dedicated world Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC President and CEO, service of Laura Philips (2006 through Washington, DC Park Outdoor Advertising of EMERITUS DIRECTORS 2018). She brought an unflagging New York, Inc. Evelyn Berezin, New York, NY*** passion and devotion for the BTI Lourdes Casanova, Ph.D. President and Chairman, Mary Clutter, Ph.D., Washington, DC mission, always imagining a brighter Senior Lecturer of Management Triad Foundation, Inc. Ezra Cornell, Ithaca, NY and more impactful future. Under her and Academic Director of Emerging Ithaca, NY Paul Hatfield, St. Louis, MO gracious leadership, BTI diversified and Markets Institute, Christian C. Hohenlohe, strengthened its board, maintained S.C. Johnson School of Management, Laura Philips, Ph.D.* Washington, DC an openness and thirst for new ideas Cornell University, Ithaca, NY Founder & CEO Robert M. Pennoyer, New York, NY and directions, and fostered a sense of Spheryx, Inc community and mutual engagement. Peter Cornelius, Ph.D. New York, NY SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY BOARD We are stronger for her belief in Managing Director Mary Lou Guerinot, Ph.D., Chair mentoring, growth and the possibilities AlpInvest Partners/The Carlyle Group Nancy Rawson, M.Sc., Ph.D. Ronald and Deborah Harris Professor of plant science. New York, NY Associate Director/Associate Member in the Sciences, Monell Chemical Senses Center Department of Biological Sciences Mary Lou Guerinot, Ph.D. ** BTI welcomes new Board member, Philadelphia, PA Dartmouth College Charles H. Trautmann and new Ronald and Deborah Harris Professor Hanover, NH in the Sciences Oliver W. Schulze Scientific Advisory Board member, Jane Department of Biological Sciences, Partner, Curo Pet Care Sir David Baulcombe, Ph.D. Silverthorne. Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH San Francisco, CA Head of Department, Department of Plant Sciences *** Evelyn Berezin, Emeritus Director, Jacqueline Heard, Ph.D., M.B.A. University of Cambridge passed away in December. Venture Partner, Anterra Capital Cambridge, UK Boston, MA TABLE OF CONTENTS OF TABLE With world Discoverypopulation predicted to reach nine billion by Improving a Minor Crop 6 2050, understanding the principles underlying agriculture is increasingly crucial. BTI faculty researchers are dedicated to making scientific discoveries that can speed the development Unlocking Secrets of of sustainable agriculture and healthier food an Ancient Relationship 7 production. BTI discoveries have the potential not only to help increase the food supply, but also to enhance the nutritional value of foods in developing worlds, to reduce the need Studying Insects for fertilizers and pesticides, and to produce to Save Citrus 8 cheaper vaccines. Enabling Farmers in the Developing World 10 More than BTI had BTI has 33,000 over acres have 128 been peer-reviewed 9,500 abandoned scientific publications sq. ft. of Mission To advance and communicate due to citrus in greenhouse greening scientific discovery in plant biology to improve President’s Letter 2 2018 space disease agriculture, protect the environment, and Board Chair Letter 3 devoted to research enhance human health Director of Research Letter 4 Faculty 5 Vision The Boyce Thompson Institute will be known internationally for research Research Highlights 6 excellence in plant biology and discoveries Technology Transfer 14 Chronic food deprivation that benefit society Education & OutreachBTI 16 reviewed 27 reached nearly BTI received nearly business partnerships Communications 17 $1.9 million in in 2018To view this report online, please821 philanthropic support Post Graduates 18 visit www.BTIscience.org. in 2018 million Alumni 19 Design by Iron Design; Photographypeople by Chris in 2017 Kitchen, Sheryl Sinkow, Dede Hatch, Christopher Philanthropy Knight (NextGen Cassava, International 20 Programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences), John Wiley, Jotham Austin II, R. Financials 24 Howard Berg, Stephanie Zettl, Patricia Okubara, About the cover: BTI’s Guillaume Bauchet (left) with Ismail Pixabay, Shutterstock.com, Lukas Mueller, Jason Rabbi, a cassava geneticist from the International Institute Leadership 25 Koski/Cornell Brand Communications with of Tropical Agriculture, at a cassava research trial plot additional photography from BTI staff. Photos of Polly Burchfield and the NRCRI team provided. of the National Crops Resources Research Institute in Namulonge, Uganda. PRESIDENT’S LETTER Dear Friends, opportunities. At the same time, behind every discovery is a scientist—or “Food security” refers to having adequate more often a team of scientists—who access to affordable, nutritious food, and themselves benefit from BTI’s unique was at the top of William B. Thompson’s and dedicated business and core facilities mind as the Institute was conceived support staff, whose services span nearly 100 years ago. It is, however, a project management to laboratory safety, deceptively simple concept because freeing researchers to focus on their culture, diet, political and emotional science. BTI’s advancement office and factors also play a role. outreach department engage the public, BTI, in keeping with its mission, focuses on alumni, budding scientists and educators the scientific needs behind improving food to involve them in our mission through security locally, nationally and globally. Our events, communications and internships. hope is that BTI discoveries will contribute Food security, like the climate change that to an integrated solution to a dynamic global overlays it, is a problem of our time. BTI challenge impacted by population growth, that is increasingly livening salads, jams and believes in being at the forefront of science migration and climate change. dessert choices. BTI partnered with Cornell that can help humanity both cope and thrive The way in which agriculture responds University and the Cornell Cooperative in the face of such challenges. By emphasizing to climate change will have much to say Extension to involve local farms and citizen collaboration across the institute, and by about future food security. One relevant scientists in groundcherry growth and allying with scientists across the campus and area in which BTI excels is plant response marketing trials. Simultaneously, a high-profile around the world, BTI is fully committed to to stress. For example, insect, bacterial and study in collaboration with Cold Spring Harbor making a difference. To find out more about fungal pathogens invade new territories demonstrated the ability to domesticate our accomplishments and plans, please as weather patterns change. Discoveries groundcherry through gene editing. These explore our report. about bacterial speck resistance in diverse new varieties are being designed to create new tomato species, unravelling the mysteries economic opportunities for farmers, while of how viruses and bacteria