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.

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.

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 (forskarassist). 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 large research projects, platforms as well as our educational programs is available under the respective rubrics.

Are you interested in experiencing our international scientific environment? You are welcome to contact us for a visit or for a shorter or a longer research stay!