Who we are

JIC is one of six mission-driven Institutes sponsored by the Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). The Institutes provide critical national capability and expertise in strategically important areas, and are central to delivering BBSRC’s vision and priorities.

JIC research maps closely onto BBSRC’s key strategic research priorities :

• Food Security- bioscience for a sustainable supply of sufficient, affordable, nutritious and safe food, adapting to a rapidly changing world


• Bioenergy and industrial biotechnology- biofuels and industrial materials from novel biological sources, reducing dependency on petrochemicals and helping the UK to become a low carbon economy


• Basic bioscience underpinning health- driving advances for better health across the life course and improved quality of life, reducing the need for medical and social intervention

What we do.

Our mission is to generate knowledge of plants and microbes through innovative research, to train scientists for the future, and to apply our knowledge to benefit agriculture, human health and well-being, and the environment.

Our goals are:

• to ensure excellence of research and the opportunities for innovative and long term exploration in plant and microbial sciences. A central principle of our research is the use of genetics, continuing the long and prestigious history of genetics at the JIC
   
• to promote the translation of research in the areas of yield and quality in crop plants, the use of microbial and plant products to promote human health and the use of plants and microbes as biotechnological agents
   
• to use novel genetic approaches to generate new varieties and strains of plants and microbes that can be used to further knowledge and to enhance productive and biotechnological capacity
   
• to apply modern biotechnology to agriculture in an environmentally-sustainable context
   
• to provide scientific advice to policy makers and the public
   
• to train the scientific leaders of the future.

How to find out more

For comprehensive information on the Institute and its research activities click on the website link in the box on the left. To contact the Institute, click on the email link.