Launch of Shanghai crop laboratory bolsters UK-China scientific collaboration

CEPAMS will employ 10 senior scientists leading international groups of researchers investigating plant and microbial science
CEPAMS will employ 10 senior scientists leading international groups of researchers investigating plant and microbial science

The Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Science (CEPAMS) will be formally opened today in Shanghai by Jo Johnson MP, the UK Minister for Science and Research.

The new facility will be one of two in China with dedicated state of the art laboratories in Beijing and Shanghai.

CEPAMS will employ 10 senior scientists leading international groups of researchers investigating plant and microbial science to address global challenges in food security and human health.

Collaborative research to address the global challenge of food security will be supported in areas such as improving crop yields, decreasing the threat from crop pests and pathogens and reducing the need for artificial fertiliser.

Sixteen research themes have already been funded in areas of shared scientific excellence. Research to improve human health includes two projects relating to the study of Chinese medicine.

CEPAMS forms the basis of an international partnership between the world renowned UK bioscience research facility, The John Innes Centre and Chinese Academy of Sciences.

'Real-life tangible challenges'

Science Minister Jo Johnson said greater international collaboration is "key to solving real-life tangible challenges" the world faces
Science Minister Jo Johnson said greater international collaboration is "key to solving real-life tangible challenges" the world faces

Science Minister Jo Johnson said greater international collaboration is "key to solving real-life tangible challenges" the world faces.

"This new centre is testament to our scientific partnership with China," Mr Johnson said.

"It will bring together the brightest minds from the UK and China to improve crop production for the world’s growing populations and decrease the risks of pesticides in food production."

Director of the John Innes Centre, Professor Dale Sanders, added: "Today we are seeing our vision of a world class UK/China collaboration in plant and microbial sciences become a reality.

"I have no doubt that the excellent, world leading science delivered by this centre will make a huge impact on the big global challenges relating to food security and human health."

Though the new facility is being opened today, many CEPAMS collaborations have already been established.

A team of scientists based in the UK and in China published important research on how the Chinese plant, Scutellaria Biacellensis, produces a potentially valuable anti-cancer compound, paving the way to upscale production for medicinal use.

International collaboration

Prof Melanie Welham, CEO of BBSRC, added: "International collaboration is not only a crucial path forward for UK research and innovation but also an area where we are already clearly demonstrating impact.

"By working together at CEPAMS the UK and China can use our combined strengths and resources to address common research questions and to tackle major global challenges, far better than we can alone.

"This relationship delivers value and impact for both the UK and China," Prof Welham said.

The CEPAMS partnership was established in 2014 with funding from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).

It brings together three world-leading plant and microbial research institutes: the John Innes Centre (UK), the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (Beijing) and the Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (Shanghai).