The John Innes Centre receives strategic funding from BBSRC
The John Innes Centre receives strategic funding from BBSRC
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JIC Director Prof Dale Sanders and Dr Jonathan Clarke, Head of Business Development, signing the formal collaboration agreement. LinksUK and Malaysian scientists to collaborate on plant and microbial research23rd February 2011 The John Innes Centre, as part of its commitment to international outreach, has signed a formal collaboration agreement through its trading subsidiary John Innes Enterprise Limited with the Malaysian Genomics Resource Centre Berhad (MGRC). The objective is for the organisations to work together in the field of functional genomics and for Malaysian scientists to have increased interaction with the world-class scientific research in plant and microbial research undertaken by the John Innes Centre (JIC). “We hope the collaboration will benefit Malaysian agriculture by increasing access to plant and microbial science for tropical crop improvement,” said JIC director Professor Dale Sanders. “Joint research will also help the country realise the potential of its biodiversity by identifying natural products that could be used in the bioactives sector.” “For the John Innes Centre the collaboration will help us establish links with Malaysian organisations that may wish to utilise our experience in the application of leading edge science to tackle important challenges facing the Malaysian economy and society.” A key priority at the John Innes Centre is to ensure that the knowledge generated by its scientists can benefit society and the environment through research, knowledge exchange, commercialisation and training. John Innes Enterprises offers commercial access to a range of technical services at JIC, including crop plant transformation, mutation detection in crops and natural product technology. The agreement will provide more direct access to JIC’s expertise in disease resistance, plant genetics and natural products. Many plant and microbial compounds have biological activity that can be used in the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals, novel foods and as active ingredients for industrial biotechnology. The agricultural and bio-actives sectors are important to the rapidly growing economy in Malaysia. As part of Malaysia's Economic Transformation Programme, the government has set a target of doubling its national income from agriculture from USD7.5 billion in 2009 to USD16.6 billion by 2020. "We are pleased to be involved in this significant collaboration with JIC, a world-renowned plant and microbial science centre,” said MGRC managing director Robert Hercus. “MGRC’s collaboration with JIC will provide Malaysian scientists with easy access to JIC’s expertise and extensive knowledge applicable to plants and microbes. Together we will be able to help Malaysian scientists accelerate their journey of discovery.” Malaysia’s rich biodiversity also holds a treasure of unexplored potential applications for use in agriculture, plantations, aquaculture and healthcare industries. MGRC will continue to work with Malaysian researchers in their quest to better understand plants, microbes and unexplored organisms through sequencing and the subsequent analysis of genetic data.” Contacts JIC Press Office Notes to Editors About the John Innes Centre About MGRC
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