Welcome to Umeå Plant Science Centre!
UPSC is one of the strongest research environments for experimental plant biology in Europe and we conduct research of both basic and strategic importance. Research at UPSC covers a wide range of disciplines in plant biology including ecology, genetics, physiology, biochemistry, cell biology and molecular biology. The common goal shared by scientist within UPSC is to understand the mechanisms driving plant development and plant adaptation to environmental changes. Our work is carried out at all organization levels of the plant, and through integrating the different research fields and areas of expertise. We aim to describe the plant as a complex organism in dynamic interaction with its environment.
How we are organised
Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC) was formed in 1999 when the Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University and the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) joined to create a strong common research environment. UPSC is an umbrella organisation administered by a board that is appointed by the two universities. The board is responsible for the strategic development of UPSC, for common infrastructure and technical platforms, and for undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral training. Although the two departments have their own administration and head of department (prefekt), the two departments share this common scientific environment and all research facilities.
More about the research we do
Our research is organized in individual research groups, each led by an independent principal investigator (PI), who is either a full professor, an associate professor (universitetslektor) or an assistant professor (biträdande universitetslektor). You can find the research profile of all research groups under Research Groups. In addition to the PIs employed at the two departments, who are the core of UPSC, several researchers are affiliated to UPSC as “associated PIs”. You will find their research group profile under Associated Research Groups. We have organized the infrastructure and equipment into common resources and technical platforms that are available to all UPSC researchers. Most of these are financed by external grants, and UPSC has successfully competed for several large “Centre of Excellence” grants. Information about collaborative research projects, facilities as well as our educational programs is available under the respective rubrics.
You can read more about UPSC's research in our biannual report (published 2024):
UPSC_Report_22-23.pdf
History of UPSC and Plant Science in Umeå
The Department of Plant Physiology started its work at Umeå University in 1967 – eleven years before its sister department at SLU, the Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, was established. Both departments joined their forces in 1999 and created the Umeå Plant Science Centre (UPSC), first “virtually”, and in 2001 also physically. The research at UPSC today is fundamentally different from the science of 1967. Today, over 200 persons from about 45 different nationalities work at the UPSC - in contrast to the handful of people that started in August 1967.
The history of Plant Science in Umeå is summarized in a booklet that was printed for the “50years of Plant Science in Umeå” symposium that took place in August 2017. This booklet is based on a more detailed book with the title “Från King Alfred till grangenomet: 50 år av växtforskning i Umeå” (in Swedish) that was published in 2018. In case you are interested in reading more about the history of Plant Science in Umeå, have a look into the English booklet below or contact
50years_Plant_Science_in_Umea.pdf
Are you interested in coming in contact with us?
You are welcome to contact us at
Member | Board Position | University |
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Catherine Bellini | Chairman | UMU |
Rishikesh Bhalerao | Vice chairman | SLU |
Johannes Hanson | Head of Department | UMU |
Totte Niittylä | Head of Department | SLU |
Laura Bacete | Board member | UMU |
Rosario García Gil | Board Member | SLU |
Olivier Keech | Board member | UMU |
Peter Kindgren | Board member | SLU |
Stéphanie Robert | Board member | SLU |
Stéphane Verger | Board member | UMU |
Ove Nilsson | Adjunct, Director of UPSC | SLU |
Alexis Brun | Adjunct, PostDoc representative | UMU |
Veronica Bourquin | Adjunct, TA staff representative | SLU |
Barnabas Cseh/Klaudia Ordyniak | Adjunct, PhD representative | UMU |
Maximiliano Estravis Barcala | Adjunct, PostDoc representative | SLU |
Lucija Lisica/Laura García Romañach | Adjunct, PhD representative | SLU |
Anne Honsel | Adjunct, Communications Officer and secretary | UPSC |
Visiting address | Contact us |
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Umeå Plant Science Centre KBC-building Linnaeus väg 6 Campus Umeå 90736 UMEÅ SWEDEN |
Anne Honsel Communications Officer Umeå Plant Science Centre +46 70 285 6657 |
Map by MazeMap
Mailing address | |
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Umeå Plant Science Centre Department of Plant Physiology Umeå University 90187 Umeå SWEDEN Phone: +46 (0)90 786 5000 Fax: +46 (0)90 580 50 |
Umeå Plant Science Centre Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences 90183 UMEÅ SWEDEN Phone: +46 (0)90 786 8210 Fax: +46 (0)90 786 8165 |
Delivery address for packages | |
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Umeå Plant Science Centre KBC-building Lastplats KBC Linnaeus väg 6 Umeå University 90736 UMEÅ SWEDEN |