BTI Welcomes 2023 Undergraduate Student Researchers
On June 5, Boyce Thompson Institute welcomed 39 undergraduate students from colleges across the country to experience the life of a researcher for 10 weeks. Now in its 23rd year, BTI’s NSF funded Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) and USDA funded Innovations in...Controlling insect pests by targeting genes acquired from other species
Killing crop-damaging insects by targeting genes essential to their survival is a promising approach to pest control. Because essential genes are often conserved across multiple insect species, the challenge is finding targets whose silencing kills the pests but not...BTI Celebrates Another Year of Successful Summer Internship Programs
Boyce Thompson Institute celebrated its 22nd annual Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) summer internship program with an award ceremony at the George and Helen Kohut Symposium, which was held at the Institute on August 4. BTI also concluded the fourth year of its...BTI Welcomes Summer Student Interns
On May 31, Boyce Thompson Institute welcomed 41 of the country’s brightest undergraduate students from universities around the country to experience the life of a researcher for 10 weeks. Ten more research interns from local area high schools will join the Institute...Congratulations to BTI’s Spring 2022 Graduates!
We are pleased to announce that three BTI researchers received their degrees during the Cornell University commencement ceremony on May 28. Congratulations to our newest alumni! Alex Ogbonna, Mueller lab, PhD in Plant Breeding & Genetics, Dissertation title:...NSF Launches $25 Million Digital Biology Center
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $25 million over five years to four participating institutions to create the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS), which will develop new methods for observing, recording and modulating plant...BTI Welcomes Summer Student Interns
On June 1, Boyce Thompson Institute welcomed 28 of the country’s brightest undergraduate students from universities around the country to experience the life of a researcher for 10 weeks. Seven more interns from local area high schools will join the Institute for six...BTI Awarded Numerous Grants
While the past few months have disrupted all sense of normalcy, BTI researchers and staff have remained productive while working from home, or as parts of skeleton crews within the building. As the Institute uses a phased approach to slowly reopen our facilities, a...BTI Graduate Students Receive Schmittau-Novak Grants
We would like to congratulate five BTI graduate students who are Spring 2020 Schmittau-Novak Grants Program recipients. Supported by a bequest from the estate of Jean Schmittau in honor of Joseph Novak, Cornell University Plant Biology Professor Emeritus, the...Wallflowers Could Lead to New Drugs
Plant-derived chemicals called cardenolides have long been used to treat heart disease, and have shown potential as cancer therapies. But the compounds are very toxic, making it difficult for doctors to prescribe a dose that works without harming the patient. For...BTI Celebrates Another Successful Summer Internship Program
Boyce Thompson Institute celebrated its 19th annual Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) summer internship program with an award ceremony at the George and Helen Kohut Symposium, which was held at the Institute on August 8. The PGRP focuses on training and inspiring...BTI Welcomes Summer Student Interns
On June 3, Boyce Thompson Institute welcomed 35 of the country’s brightest undergraduate students from universities around the country to experience the life of a researcher for 10 weeks. Eight more interns from area high schools will join the Institute for seven...Inaugural BTI Alumni Recognition Awards
It is with great enthusiasm and pride that Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) will recognize the first recipients of BTI’s Alumni Recognition Awards during the 2019 PGS Career Symposium on April 26, 2019. Several highly qualified individuals were nominated for the...BTI scientists win awards at annual Northeast ASPB meeting
Two researchers from the Boyce Thompson Institute earned 1st place honors at the 2018 Northeast ASPB Section annual meeting. The meeting was hosted by the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the theme was Translational Research for Improving Crop Productivity.
2017 PGRP Symposium marks finale of intern researchers’ summer
Now in its 16th year, BTI’s annual PGRP symposium provides a means for student interns to to present their findings in a professional, engaging setting.
BTI Receives DARPA “Insect Allies” Award to Develop Viruses and Insects for Maize Improvement
The research project, titled Viruses and Insects as Plant Enhancement Resources (VIPER), is supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Insect Allies program.
Georg Jander receives $1 million NSF EDGE award to develop genomic tools for studying milkweed
BTI’s Georg Jander is leading one of eight research groups selected to receive awards through the Enabling Discovery through Genomic Tools (EDGE) program, overseen by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF’s) Biological Science Directorate.
Researchers Identify Genes for “Help Me!” Aromas from Corn
Insect damage triggers volatile compounds that attract caterpillar-killing wasps.
Jander Lab Members Win ASPB Awards
Postdoctoral researcher Vered Tzin received support to present her work at the American Society for Plant Biology annual meeting in July, and Cairo Archer received an undergraduate research fellowship to support her summer research in the Jander lab
Potato Plants Trigger Aboveground Defenses in Response to Tuber Attacks
Mimicking the effects of a Guatemalan tuber moth infestation in agricultural fields could increase potato yield and reduce pest damage.
BTI Hosts Visit from My Brother’s Keeper Group
The group from Team I.M.P.A.C.T. of Rochester, NY, exposed young men to potential careers in the plant sciences.
The Herbivores Dilemma
Jander lab members investigate the chemical defenses that young corn plants use to fight off simultaneous attacks from hungry insects.
Aphids Balance Their Diets by Rebuilding Plant Amino Acids
Aphids thrive on a high-sugar diet, thanks to bacterial partners that help them breakdown plant sap and build essential amino acids from scratch.
BTI Scientists Envision the “Future of Food”
What will your dinner plate look like in 2050? With discoveries from the Boyce Thompson Institute, future crops may have more nutrients and greater resistance to insects, drought and disease.
Cairo Archer Wants to Level the Growing Field
“There is such a disconnect between what the average person knows about plant science and what we do in the lab here…I think it’s really important to be able to talk to anyone about what I do in a way that they understand.”
Teachers Become Students at BTI’s Curriculum Development Projects
Fourteen teachers arrived at BTI from schools as close as Ithaca and as far as Anaheim, Calif. to attend the BTI Plant Biology Curriculum Development Projects (CDP) Teacher Institute July 13-17, 2015
Teachers Share Strategies for Inspiring Tomorrow’s STEM Researchers
Science teachers planted switchgrass seeds, sampled algae-glycerin soap, and participated in roleplaying activities at the Bioenergy and Bioproducts Education Program’s National STEM conference last week in Horseheads, N.Y.
Felix Fernandez-Penny Stays True to His Roots
Some interns, like Cornell University first-year student Felix Fernandez-Penny, enjoy their time at BTI so much that they keep showing up at the laboratory, long after the summer ends.
BTI Welcomes New Crop of Summer Interns
BTI welcomes 20 college-level interns for 10 weeks of research in Plant Genome Research Program, the Bioinformatics Program or the Bioenergy Education Program.
Professor Jander Comments on Citrus Greening Research
EPA has granted temporary approval of two genes from spinach to be used in citrus plants. “There is a critical need to go beyond citrus to find novel resistance genes that provide protection…”
Why Rice Can’t Get Along with Its Neighbors
A new compound could make rice more weed-resistant. Researchers in the Jander laboratory first discovered b-tyrosine while looking for new defense compounds in rice.
New equipment opens up ‘mass’ive possibilities
The Boyce Thompson Institute starts off 2015 with a generous gift from the Triad Foundation and researchers are about to open their most exciting present: a high-resolution mass spectrometer. The instrument, which can determine the chemical formula – and possibly even...Jander Unlocks Molecular Pathways of Plants and Empowers People
Professor Georg Jander has seen that, when attacked, plants react at the molecular level. Jander’s dedication—to plant science and people—seems to be contagious.
Hemiptera Conference Held at Cornell, December 2014
Georg Jander, Michelle Cilia and Angela Douglas organized Hemiptera (sucking insects) conference held on December 4, 2014.
New Website Is Portal for Nicotiana benthamiana Experimental Resources
This Nicotiana benthamiana web site shares papers, results, tools, protocols, and other materials from researchers using NB as a study plant.
Three Boyce Thompson Institute Scientists Honored as AAAS Fellows
Drs. Harrison, Klessig, and Jander honored.
Sugar Could Be a Sweet Way to Control Insect Pests
BTI Scientist Georg Jander to work with Cornell University’s Angela Douglas to study the effects of sugar on insects, to control pests on plants.