Professors:
Eric Beers;
Glenda Gillaspy;
Jason Holliday;
John McDowell;
Mohammad Saghai-Maroof;
Birgit Scharf;
David Schmale;
Ann Stevens;
Dorothea Tholl;
Boris Vinatzer;
James Westwood;
Mark Williams;
Brenda Winkel;
Bingyu Zhao
Associate Professors:
Brian Badgley;
Jacob Barney;
Amy Brunner;
Eva Colla'kova';
John Jelesko;
Song Li;
Guillaume Pilot;
Xiaofeng Wang
Assistant Professors:
Bastiaan Bargmann;
David Haak;
Gota Morota;
Susan Whitehead;
Bo Zhang
Translational Plant Science (TPS) is the process through which knowledge from basic research on plant genetics and genomics is used to improve agricultural productivity. The central goals of the TPS program are to (1) create a new training model to prepare molecular plant scientists to function along the bench-to-marketplace pipeline; (2) catalyze interdisciplinary research to address challenges in food security, plants as biofactories, and biomass.
Our Center (https://translationalplantsci.fralinlifesci.vt.edu) spans six departments and three colleges, and is designed to foster the mindsets and skills students need to link basic plant science with downstream applications, which include: a global perspective on the challenges and opportunities presented by plant diseases; the ability to frame novel, use-inspired research questions and to pursue the answers within interdisciplinary teams; an awareness of the social and economic impacts of agricultural biotechnologies and plant disease and the ability to engage the public in meaningful dialogue about these complex issues; the ability to function effectively in the diverse cultures of the professions outside of academia that play key roles in the translational plant science pipeline (e.g. business, regulation, policy).
The Graduate Program in Translational Plant Sciences is an integral part of the TPSC. It allows students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. degree in this discipline to work in a wide variety of research areas ranging from plant genomics to disease resistance, metabolic engineering, bioproduction and bioprocessing, and forest biotechnology.
TPS degree candidates who enroll in the program participate in several rotations through laboratories of interest. The program of study includes selections from a range of course offerings, tailored to the background and interests of each student. At the end of the first or second semester of enrollment, a permanent advisor is selected in whose laboratory the dissertation research will be conducted.
The diversity in the TPS program is evident by looking at the federal agencies that fund them: National Science Foundation, United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Energy, and National Institute of Health. Moreover, many laboratories are also supported by various Virginia and US grower organizations and industry.
Colleges and Departments:
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Animal and Poultry Science
Biochemistry
Biological Systems Engineering
School of Plant and Environmental Sciences
College of Science Biological Sciences
College of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences Forestry
For more information please contact John McDowell, Principal Investigator, johnmcd@vt.edu
