The Department of Plant Sciences has a long-established track record of innovation and has developed many specialist centres to further research and development in specialist areas.
Algal Innovation Centre
The Algal Innovation Centre is a Centre for Excellence with test and scale-up facilities, connecting the entire pipeline of algal research from strain selection and improvement, through harvesting and processing, to development of underpinning technology and engineering solutions. Recent discoveries include development of molecular tools to allow efficient and rational manipulation of transgene expression, based on our discovery of vitamin-responsive gene expression in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and proposal of the concept of Synthetic Ecology, which aims to establish robust algal co-cultures to facilitate large-scale algal cultivation.
Find out more about the Algal Innovation Centre.
See the centre’s work on algal biotech scaleup here
Centre for Global Wood Security
Forests are vital for timber and fuelwood production, carbon stocking and markets, and biodiversity conservation, yet their future is increasingly insecure under global environmental change. The Centre for Global Wood Security unites key academic, industry, NGO and policy partners to deliver core research and capacity-building to enhance the sustainability of forest use and future-proof forest management and restoration. By embedding resilience and minimising unintended outcomes in forest management, our mission is to secure forest-based ecosystem services and biodiversity.
Find out more about the Centre for Global Wood Security.
Crop Science Centre
The Crop Science Centre is a partnership between the University of Cambridge and NIAB and is a unique translational research operation in crop sciences. The new Centre benefits from the diverse skills and expertise of the University and NIAB, providing an environment for research excellence in crops, with the drive and expertise for scientific translation to address real-world problems.
Find out more about the Crop Science Centre.
Conservation Research Institute
The University of Cambridge Conservation Research Institute is the academic ‘engine room’ of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) – a unique collaboration between the University of Cambridge and nine leading biodiversity conservation organisations. It aims to break down disciplinary silos by amalgamating conservation related research drawn from all six core Schools within the University: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and Humanities, Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Clinical Medicine and Technology.
Find out more about the Conservation Research Institute
Engineering Biology Interdisciplinary Research Centre
The Engineering Biology Interdisciplinary Research Centre provides a hub for anyone interested in Engineering and Synthetic Biology at the University of Cambridge, as well as commercial partners and external collaborators. The Centre promotes interdisciplinary exchange in the fields of engineering and synthetic biology through a regular event series and by funding projects at the intersection of biology, engineering, computing and design.
Find out more about the Engineering Biology Interdisciplinary Research Centre
Global Food Security Interdisciplinary Research Centre
The Global Food Security Interdisciplinary Research Centre promotes an interdisciplinary approach to addressing the challenge of ensuring all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and preferences for an active and healthy life.
Read more about the Global Food Security Interdisciplinary Research Centre
Plants @ Cambridge
Plants @ Cambridge is a new home-on-the-web for all the research, discovery and education work that Cambridge University academics do with plants. Plants @ Cambridge highlights the work of nine departments, programmes and centres, and is reaching out across the university to connect with researchers studying plants in other disciplines to grow a network of practitioners and participants across and outside of traditional research groupings.