About

About the Translational Plant Sciences Center

The mission of the Translational Plant Sciences Center is to recruit students and foster their education in the field of plant sciences to prepare them for interdisciplinary positions related to plant research, biotechnology, and agriculture.

 The Translational Plant Sciences Center (TPSC) is a community of researchers committed to advancing basic knowledge in the plant sciences and translating this knowledge into improved crop production. Supported by the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, the center provides unique career growth opportunities for affiliate faculty, graduate students, postdocs, undergraduate students, and alumni. 

Our research is diverse, with locations that range from the atmosphere to the rhizosphere, at scales that range from cellular networks to ecosystems. What unites us is a sense of urgency that new tools are needed to ensure that global needs for food, feed and fiber will be met in an ecologically sustainable manner.

We believe that basic molecular research is an important component of this imperative, as are projects that translate new knowledge into practical solutions for sustainable agriculture. Such research requires interdisciplinary collaboration, and much of our research takes place in teams within and beyond Virginia Tech. We are also committed to training students for diverse career opportunities in academia, industry, agriculture, and government. These commonalities underpin a remarkably strong, cohesive community that spans six departments and three colleges. 

The Translational Plant Sciences Center (TPSC) is a group of laboratories with broad research topics revolving around attaining basic knowledge in the plant sciences, and translation of this knowledge to improve crop production in collaboration with industry leaders. The TPSC program is funded by the Virginia Tech Graduate School (Interdisciplinary Graduate Education Program - IGEP program), the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, and individual departments.