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Totte Niittylä, Associate Professor at the Umeå Plant Science Centre, has received a 5-year grant with a budget of little over 10 million SEK from the Swedish Research Council Formas. His project ‘Nanowood’ is an interdisciplinary project in collaboration with Kristiina Oksman from Luleå University of Technology (LTU).
‘Nanowood’ combines basic wood biology and material science. The aim of the project is to find and optimize the best Swedish wood source for nanocellulose production. The focus is set on spruce as the most important tree for the Swedish forest industry and on hybrid aspen because of its potential in Swedish plantation forestry.
Currently one of the biggest challenges in nanocellulose production is related to the efficient separation of cellulose fibrils from the raw material. Although different raw material resources for fibrillation have been investigated there is very limited knowledge on how the chemical composition of wood is affecting the yield and final nanocellulose properties.
“We aim to identify genetic factors influencing the preparation and properties of nanocellulose,” says Totte Niittylä. “The possibility of using modern tree breeding tools to improve the suitability of wood for nanocellulose production is completely unexplored. It is great that with funding of ‘Nanowood’ we can now start to fill this gap.”Cellulose nanocrystals are the smallest constituents of wood fibres. They build up nanofibers which are bundled to cellulose microfibrils that in turn form the wood fibres. Cellulose nanofibers and crystals have excellent mechanical and thermal properties and low weight compared to other nanoparticles, and they are environmentally friendly. They can be used as a functional additive or reinforcement in different composite polymers, and as absorbent or membrane for water cleaning to name some interesting possibilities.
From left to right: Tree trunk, wood fibre walls, purified cellulose microfibrils, cellulose nanofibers and cellulose nanocrystals. Figure: Kristiina Oksman
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[2016-06-08] VINNOVA, Sweden’s Innovation Agency, has decided to continue funding the activities of the UPSC Berzelii Centre for Forest Biotechnology for five more years (2017-2021). The UPSC Berzelii Centre becomes now a new VINNOVA Competence Centre and will be one of five existing Centres of Competence in Sweden that receive this funding.
VINNOVA aims with its Centre of Competence program to create active networks between universities, research institutes, companies and other public research organizations. The focus is set on research areas that are significant for Sweden’s competitive strengths on the national and international level. In a directed call against existing Competence Centres, VINNOVA has decided to grant the most successful Centres a five-year continuation.
The Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) is hosting the current Berzelii Centre for Forest Biotechnology that is funded by the Swedish Research Council (VR) and VINNOVA from 2007 till 2016. Research groups from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and Umeå University are collaborating with seven industrial partners on performing and translating excellent basic research to applications within the Swedish forest industry.
The performance of the Centre was recently evaluated together with 19 other Berzelii and VINNEX Centres and was found to be “Exceptional” among these Centres. In this new call the UPSC centre competed with those 19 and other previous VINNOVA centres and was found to be one of five Centres deserving continuing support.
“These are great news for us” says Ove Nilsson, director of the current UPSC Berzelii Centre and the new UPSC Centre for Forest Biotechnology. “The new approval allows us not only to continue and develop our academic/industrial research projects, but also confirms that what we are doing and the way we are doing it is successful”.
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Stefan Jansson was one of the speakers at the third TEDxUmeå meeting at the 11th of May
2016. You can now watch his talk with the title “To be or not be a GMO, that is the question” under the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyrsNa1jLpo.
2016. You can now watch his talk with the title “To be or not be a GMO, that is the question” under the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyrsNa1jLpo. Stefan is explaining in his talk why plants modified using the new gene editing methods like CRIPSR-Cas9 do not fit into the original definition for a genetically modified organism (GMO). By using a basket filled with vegetables, fruits and an Arabidopsis plant he is comparing traditional and advanced breeding technologies and points out the problematic nature that the legislation has to face now with the new gene editing methods.
The motto of TEDxUmeå2016 was “challenging the norm” and should reflect also Umeå as a “young and progressive university city”. The invited speakers were artists, scientists and thinkers who were supposed to present “norm-breaking” ideas or new views on certain topics. The size of the whole event was increased this year up to 400 participants.
TEDx events are non-profit events based on TED conferences which have the motto “Ideas Worth Spreading”. They are - in contrast to TED conferences - local and self-organized independently from TED. TEDxUmeå is financed by several sponsors and supported among others by Umeå University as partner.
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[2016-05-26] Stefan Jansson, a professor at Umeå University has been appointed 2015 Forest Biotechnologist of the Year by the Institute of Forest Biosciences (IFB). IFB is an international organisation working towards healthier and more productive forests.
Stefan Jansson was born 1959 and comes from Sveg in Härjedalen. He is a leading scientist in the field of Plant Physiology at Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) – a centre for experimental plant research.Stefan Jansson is the seventh scientist, and the first Swede, to win this award.
“It feels great to be given this award!”, says Stefan Jansson, Professor at Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) at the Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University.
Stefan Jansson was nominated because of his ground-breaking work on the use of gene editing tools (CRISPR) in plants that pushes the boundaries of forest biosciences while forcing much needed dialogue around the classification of what constitutes a genetically modified (GM) plant in Europe and around the world.
Michele Garfinkel, Vice Chair of the Institute of Forest Biosciences Board (IFB), notes, “Dr. Jansson is an excellent choice for Forest Biotechnologist of the Year. He works in a dynamic area of research using an important emerging technology that allows for extremely rapid advancements in understanding and application of knowledge in genomics and related areas. His further contributions to public audiences and to the scientific community have been invaluable.”
Stefan Jansson’s scientific career has been highlighted by several foundational efforts in forest biotechnology. He was involved in the sequencing of the first tree genome (Populus) and has been leading the work to sequence the first conifer genome (Norway spruce). His group has developed tools and databases used widely by the forest genomics and biotechnology community, and he is responsible for a large fraction of the field experiments with transgenic trees in Europe. He is vice-director of the world-leading UPSC Berzelii Centre of Forest Biotechnology, is a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (KVA) and has published over 120 scientific articles.
Full text: www.teknat.umu.se/
Text: Adam Costanza
Full text: www.teknat.umu.se/
Text: Adam Costanza
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The “European Molecular Biology Organization“ (EMBO) announced today the election of 58 new EMBO Members. Ove Nilsson, director at Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) and SLU in Umeå, is one of the researchers that are recognized with their election for their achievements in life science.
Once a year the EMBO council elects outstanding scientists to receive the EMBO Membership. This year 50 new Members from Europe and 8 Associated Members from China, Japan, Lithuania, Singapore and the United States were chosen. They are now part of a network that has the goal to promote the European research environment.
Ove Nilsson focuses in his research on two main questions: how do plants control the time when they are flowering and how do perennial plants control their growth during the different seasons of the year. He is funded as Wallenberg scholar by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation that supports only the most successful researches at Swedish Universities.
He is also the director of the UPSC Berzelii Centre for Forest Biotechnology, a centre of excellence funded by the Swedish Research Council and VINNOVA. The vision of this Centre is to promote an environment where cutting-edge research and Swedish forest industry can interact easily and efficiently with each other.
EMBO Members are involved in all activities EMBO is organizing e.g. courses, workshops and conferences. The organisation also provides financial support for research projects and it influences actively science policy with its “Science Policy Programme”. Moreover, EMBO publishes four scientific journals to which EMBO Members have free access to.
The EMBO organisation was founded in 1964 on recommendation of the two British biologists John Kendrew and Conrad Waddington. They wanted to intensify the collaboration between European molecular biologists. Today, more than 1700 excellent scientists are elected EMBO Members.
More information about EMBO: https://www.embo.org
More information about EMBO: https://www.embo.org
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Photo: Birgitta DahlinPeter Sylwan, science journalist and author of several (popular scientific) books, will join the UPSC Days 2016. His interest is to make science popular and he is writing a lot about the relationship between science and human society. During the UPSC Days 2016 he will talk about “Life at stake – On science, bioscience and society”.
Peter Sylwan has worked among others for radio, TV and newspapers, for the Institute of Futures Studies and as adjunct professor for communication at the University of Lund. Originally, he has studied to become an agronomist but worked throughout his entire career as journalist and writer.
The UPSC Days 2016 will take place at the 30th and 31st of May 2016 at Skogshögskolan (SLU, Umeå).
Preliminary program and registration
Deadline for registration: 23rd of May.
Location: P.O. Bäckström salen and Åteln, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) in Umeå
How to find the place (map)
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Vaughan Hurry and Karin Ljung were inaugurated as new professors at SLU Umeå
On Friday the 13th of May Vaughan Hurry and Karin Ljung were officially inaugurated as new professor at SLU. As part of the inauguration ceremony they gave a popular science talk about their research.
Vaughan Hurry has talked about how plants sense environmental signals and how their primary metabolism is adjusted to fluctuations in growth temperature.
For more information: Vaughan Hurry
Karin Ljung, one of the two new prefects of the UPSC, presented her research about how plant hormones influence root development and which role these hormones play to coordinate above and below ground growth of plants.
For more information: Karin Ljung
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On Friday the 13th of May Vaughan Hurry and Karin Ljung were officially inaugurated as new professor at SLU. As part of the inauguration ceremony they gave a popular science talk about their research.
Vaughan Hurry has talked about how plants sense environmental signals and how their primary metabolism is adjusted to fluctuations in growth temperature. For more information: Vaughan Hurry
Karin Ljung, one of the two new prefects of the UPSC, presented her research about how plant hormones influence root development and which role these hormones play to coordinate above and below ground growth of plants. For more information: Karin Ljung
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Welcome to the UPSC Days 2016!The UPSC Days will take place the 30th and 31st of May 2016 at Skogshögskolan (SLU, Umeå). The meeting will focus on cutting edge research in plant science and highlight new initiatives and facilities here at the UPSC. Besides talks we will have an extended poster session during lunch and coffee breaks. We like to encourage every participant to submit a proposal for a poster title together with the registration. The UPSC Young Scientist Symposium is included in the UPSC days.
We will only have plant-based food during the meeting. Lunches will be light street food. The meeting will end with a pot-luck barbecue in front of the UPSC. More detailed information about the barbecue will be send out soon.
The registration is closed now.
Location: P.O. Bäckström salen and Åteln, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) in Umeå
How to find the place (map)
Contact:
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The third evaluation report for centres financed by Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) and the Swedish Research Council (VR) is now published and ranks UPSC Berzelii Centre at the first place out of 20 evaluated centres. The international evaluation committee ranked UPSC Berzelii Centre on the first place as the only centre with “exceptional” performance. UPSC Berzelii is one of the 3 centres that are approved for the fourth phase of funding in the Berzelii programme. The committee especially emphasized the centre’s excellent connection between academic and industrial partners. The interface between basic research and applied research was presented as “unique”. The committee pointed out that the scientific output was of very high quality with the “crown of jewel”, the draft of the genome sequence of Norway spruce in 2013. Crucial for the success of the UPSC Berzelii Centre is a “strong, active and visionary board working with and supporting a strong director” to bring the centre to this high standard. The committee also pointed out that the Umeå Centre showed a “robust and effective” strategy for long-term vision and mission.
"We are very pleased for this exceptionally positive evaluation of the programme that has taken almost ten years to set up. During this time we have established an increasingly close collaboration with forest industry partners to improve basic research while understanding the industry's problems and needs. It is particularly encouraging that a centre which is based on excellent basic research is highlighted as we proved that the translation from basic research breakthroughs into practical applications does not take as long as we think," comments Professor Ove Nilsson, director of the UPSC Berzelii Centre from the beginning in 2007.
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Gunnar Öquist, Olivier Keech, Judith Felten, Carl Kempe at the prize ceremony (from left, picture Johan Gunséus)[15-12-03] For the fourth time Carl Kempe, the chair of the Kempe Foundations, presented the Gunnar Öquist Fellows during a ceremony at the Chemical Biological Centre KBC. This year, two researchers at UPSC received each a SEK 3 million research grant and a SEK 50,000 personal funding. Judith Felten, researcher at the UPSC-department for Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology (SLU), and Olivier Keech, associate professor at the UPSC-department of Plant Physiology (UmU), are the two awardees.
During the ceremony Gunnar Öquist reminded the audience on the Aarhus declaration 2012 and its five principles on how excellence in research is sustained and nutured: Recognising and nuturing talents, trust and freedom for outstanding researchers, long-term perspectives for pursuing truly novel research, creative and dynamic research envionments, and providing research funding that stimulates the exchange of knowledge between different research areas. The Kempe Foundation's fellowship will give the two young plant scientists the freedom to conduct new research projects in a highly interdisciplinary research environment at the UPSC and KBC. The emeritus professor and former permanent secretary of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences will act as a mentor for the two young scientists.