The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) is a world-leading research institute specializing in molecular plant-microbe interactions. TSL is internationally recognized for its excellent fundamental scientific research and is committed to delivering science solutions that benefit agriculture, the environment and as a consequence human and animal health.
The Laboratory’s main goals are to:
- Make fundamental discoveries in plant-microbe interactions
- Develop cutting-edge technologies
- Build on fundamental scientific research and deliver solutions that reduce crop losses caused by important plant diseases
- Provide an outstanding training environment that prepares scientists who pass through the Laboratory to excel in their careers
Scientists at TSL work on topics directly relevant to crop improvement such as: biotechnological approaches to crop disease resistance, the molecular dialogue between plants and pathogens, non-self recognition in plants, plant genomics and pathogen genomics.
Funding is primarily from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the European Union.
To deliver agricultural solutions to growers, TSL research groups have excellent ties with several breeding companies and growers, which are leveraged though translational (TSL+) projects. In addition, TSL hosts a research group funded by the Two Blades Foundation focusing on translational research. One of the targets of this group is to develop and deploy durable and race-independent resistance against Asian Soybean Rust (ASR) in collaboration with DuPont Pioneer.
Follow TSL on twitter: @TheSainsburyLab