FROM CELLULAR TO GLOBAL PLANTS CONNECT US the campaign for the
Boyce Thompson Institute
HOW OFTEN DO YOU STOP TO THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF OUR FOOD DO YOU WONDER ABOUT CROP DISEASES AND IF WE HAVE THE MEANS TO COMBAT THEM? AND HOW WILL ALL OF THIS IMPACT THE ENVIRONMENT? Change is the only constant that we know. As our world changes, our knowledge of the world must progress, to best position us to manage these changes. The knowledge we seek lies at the crossroads of all of this change, by advancing developments in…
PLANTS AND BASIC RESEARCH
PLANTS ARE THE BASIS FOR THE FOOD WE EAT, THE ENERGY WE USE, AND THE MEDICINE WE NEED. Fundamental plant research—understanding how plants function and interact with their environment—is essential and inextricably linked to a sustainable future. BTI’s researchers are driven by discovery and compelled by hope for a future marked by environmentally responsible and plentiful food production, renewable energy sources, and effective medicines.
TRENDS IN FEDERAL SPENDING SINCE FY2010 PERCENT OF FY2010 BUDGET AUTHORITY, CONSTANT DOLLARS
10% 5% 0% BASE DISCRETIONARY CAPS
-5%
NSF
-10%
OFFICE OF SCIENCE
-15%
NIH
-20%
NASA
BTI scientists are at the intersection of all aspects of plant and small molecule research, with experience in data acquisition, interdisciplinary and private sector collaborations, and international partnerships. The work emerging from our laboratories helps society to better understand, model, and apply the relationships between genomes, plant traits and the environment. We hope to play an integral role in generating knowledge and building a toolbox of technologies that will facilitate future research collaborations internationally and ultimately, will bring these innovations into the economy and society in helpful ways.
-25% -30% 2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
BASED ON OMB, AGENCY & CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET DOCUMENTS, & GDP DEFLATORS FROM PRESIDENT’S FY2015 BUDGET
FEDERAL R&D | outlays as share of total federal budget, 1968-2015
percent of total federal budget
10
1968
8
6
4
2
0
2015
But the way we do science is changing. Though BTI researchers are still committed to pursuing innovative plant research, securing adequate funding for that work is an ever-rising bar. In the early 1950s, the federal government began funding much of the basic research that drove scientific discovery and economic growth in the United States. Excitingly, today, basic research is increasingly funded by philanthropic endeavors. As government funding for basic research plateaus and resources become more limited, diversifying BTI’s funding sources is not only responsible, it is necessary. The Boyce Thompson Institute must prepare for a future that allows us to continue to ask questions and explore the answers with highly specialized tools, which is why we need your help to strengthen our nonprofit and research organization —and fuel new and transformative breakthroughs. 1
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At first glance, the direct impact of molecular biology research can seem obscure—especially when you are first developing your knowledge of the work. Why do we really need to understand the minute details of molecular intertions and who benefits from it? This is a question that we at BTI explore every day. The results of our scientists’ labor—as presented in the over 90 authored and co-authored annual publications — may not seem to have an obvious link to our farmers, communities or everyday life. But, consider this:
GROWTH FROM PLANTS FARMERS AND BREEDERS
FILLING THE BREEDERS TOOLBOX All across Africa, millions of people in developing countries rely on tropical staple crops, such as cassava, yam, the cooking banana and sweet potato. Many of these crops are grown on small farms or backyard gardens, tended by women to feed their families. These staples provide their children with vital vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates and are especially important in times of food insecurity and drought. Plant viruses and insect attacks can have devastating effects on a family’s food supply. Compared to grain crops, like corn, rice and wheat, these plants have received little attention from researchers. To complicate matters, many tropical crops, including cassava, yam, banana and sweet potato have very complex genetics, and frequently are propagated through cuttings, instead of seeds. These properties make breeding new varieties, with resistance to pests, diseases and drought, a slow and difficult process. Researchers at BTI are using advanced bioinformatics techniques to facilitate the breeding of these low-tech crops. Associate Professor Lukas Mueller, in collaboration with colleagues, is creating databases with millions of genetic and physical characteristics from thousands of staple crop varieties to accelerate breeding efforts. These databases constitute a breeders’ toolbox, which enables them to run parts of their breeding program through the website, thus cutting down the amount of land, time and money required to create new varieties.
In 2012, they launched Cassavabase, a website full of breeders tools for creating better cassava crops. In 2014, they added Yambase for yam breeders and Musabase for breeders of the cooking banana, called Matoke. A sweet potato database will be the next addition, in collaboration with BTI faculty member Zhangjun Fei. As part of this work, Fei is cataloging all African sweet potato viruses, which are a key factor in limiting sweet potato yield. Sweet potatoes are popular in sub-Saharan Africa, where the crop helps prevent blindness from vitamin A deficiencies. Traditionally, farmers save part of each crop to use as seed potato for the next year, so as viruses accumulate from year-to-year in the plant matter, their yield drops off. By mapping out the location of different virus species—and identifying news ones—localities can best protect their crops against the existing viruses and avoid moving in new ones. “Traditional technologies are slow to identify the viruses that are damaging sweet potato crop in places like sub-Saharan Africa, where millions of people depend on agriculture for their subsistence. In my lab, we are developing approaches using sequencing technologies that help discover the diversity of these viruses much more efficiently.” - Zhangjun Fei, BTI faculty member, Associate Professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute
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PROTECTION FROM PLANTS MEDICINE DEVELOPMENT
Kaela was about to graduate from high school, and was in a whirlwind of life choices. Suddenly, instead of devoting her time to her friends and hobbies, like work with the school newspaper and drama club, she was deciding where she was going to go to college. In the midst of all of these decisions and preparations, she leaves school a bit early one day for a doctor appointment. During the office visit, her doctor explains to her and her mother that a vaccine is available that will help to protect her from human papillomavirus, a virus that can be the precursor to cancer. Kaela feels thankful to have this advantage and wonders about a life without the benefit of vaccinations. Fifteen years earlier, just after Kaela was born, a scientist was taking a special interest in the cabbage looper, a humble garden nuisance with an appetite for vegetables. With the Boyce Thompson Institutes's support for freedom and creativity in his work, Dr. Robert Granados discovered that cabbage loopers are comprised of cells that make excellent vaccine incubators. Granados patented the cabbage looper cell line, and it became the vehicle for producing the HPV vaccine known as Cervarix. Kaela had never heard of the Boyce Thompson Institute or of Dr. Granados’s work until she took a job in the administrative offices. As she began learning about the institute and its research, she became aware of its impact on her life. She met the man behind the vaccine that has kept her free from anxiety about developing cervical cancer. At first glance, fundamental plant research doesn’t seem glamorous as some of the traditional medical research. It can feel incremental or even removed from our everyday lives and programs. It would be easy to ask… “What’s so important about plants when we have to cure cancer?” Or, “Why should I care about plant pathogens when we have global poverty to consider?” While research at the Boyce Thompson Institute is not following a specific cure to cancer or a solution to world hunger, the work we do is the foundational essence that makes other discoveries possible—and this work can only successfully happen in a curiosity-driven environment. Through this high-risk, discovery-driven research, we can ask the innovative questions which ultimately lead to and support practical research discoveries. Your philanthropic support empowers our researchers to perform this potentially transformative research untethered.
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EDUCATION FROM PLANTS REACHING OUT TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF PLANT BIOLOGISTS MAKES BTI CAPABLE OF GROUNDBREAKING RESEARCH.
Where does innovation come from? Innovation cannot happen in a vacuum—it is only possible when people have access to the building blocks and tools needed to piece together solutions that address evolving challenges in our world. The “building blocks” referred to in this analogy are new bits of knowledge—new discoveries that only basic research reveals. The “tools” are the technologies and new techniques, which are also discoverable only through basic research. Basic research fuels the pipeline innovation. BTI has remained true to the pursuit of basic research since its founding over 90 years ago. Scientists and leaders at the institute understand that continuing basic research requires a steady stream of curiosity, education, dedication, and—perhaps most importantly—funding. CURIOSITY - Curious new minds dedicated to pursuing an interest in basic plant research. BTI faculty are committed to inspiring and training the next generation of scientists. EDUCATION - BTI’s Center for Education hosts extensive education and outreach programs that provide research experience for graduate, undergraduate, and high school students, professional development for teachers, and locally based education opportunities for community members. DEDICATION – curiosity-driven research requires dedication - sometimes experiments fail and those results can be even more educational than the successes. Learning to troubleshoot unsuccessful experiments is a valuable research skill that is only learned through hands-on research experience. FUNDING – Science and education both have a price tag. From the stipends that allow high school and undergraduate students to spend their entire summers working on research projects to the high cost of running a lab - facilities, technology, research supplies and equipment – our funding partners are really the ones who enable all of this education, discovery and – ultimately – the innovation.
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WHY BTI? BTI is a unique research institution, where talented scientists work together across labs, disciplines and institutions to tackle the biggest questions in plant and small molecule research. Though located on Cornell University’s campus, it is administratively and financially independent, which gives BTI flexibility within the academic center of the university. In this collaborative environment, scientists can test bold and ambitious hypotheses, aiming to transform the understanding of the vital workings of plants.
WHY EDUCATION IS SO IMPORTANT TO BTI’S MISSION
OUR MISSION: To advance and communicate scientific knowledge in plant biology to improve agriculture, protect the environment, and enhance human health. BTI’s mission is based on both practical and philanthropic beliefs held by its founder, Will Thompson, who understood that agriculture, food supply, and social justice are linked. In 1917, Thompson was a member of an American Red Cross relief mission to Russia, when civil war was raging and starvation was rampant. Soon after this experience, he prophesied that world political stability in the future would depend on the availability of adequate food and human health. This conviction, along with his faith in science, helped to shape his next philanthropic project, the founding of Boyce Thompson Institute. Named after his parents, the plant research institute, in his own words, was to be “a scientific institution dealing with definite things, likes germination, parasites, plant potentialities.” As BTI approaches 100 years, it takes pride in its long-standing culture of research excellence and continued dedication to inspiring and educating the scientists of tomorrow.
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GLUE DOWN POCKET FOR INSERTS
AS WE LOOK AHEAD INTO THE NEXT CENTURY, LEADERS WILL BE THOSE WHO EMPOWER OTHERS. BILL GATES
We hope you will decide to partner with BTI as we look to change the world through research and education. Please contact the office of Communications and Development for further information: bti_comm@cornell.edu / 607 254 2923
WILLIAM B. THOMPSON
founded BTI in 1924 because he believed that basic plant research could lead to real benefits for people. BTI’s mission is to advance and communicate scientific knowledge in plant biology to improve agriculture, protect the environment, and enhance human health. To this end, BTI hosts 17 faculty-run research laboratories performing with potential applications 1) to improve important food crops through increased yield, better nutritional content, and reduction of fertilizers and pesticides; 2) to better understand plant and human immune systems and develop inexpensive, plant-based vaccines; and 3) to explore alternative sources of energy through plant-based resources. At any given time, BTI hosts over 100 researchers from several countries. Over the years, researchers have been from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, England, France, Germany, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Ghana, Russia, Scotland, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Vietnam, United States, and Uruguay.
BOYCE THOMPSON INSTITUTE FOR PLANT RESEARCH 533 TOWER RD, ITHACA, NY 14853-1801, U.S.A. 607-254-1234 | WWW.BTI.CORNELL.EDU