This Laboratory opened on the campus of the John Innes Centre in 1989 and has established a global reputation in plant and microbial science. The Lab is dedicated to daring, long-term research which will help reduce crop losses to important diseases.
The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) is a charitable company of approximately 80 research scientists and support staff and a world leader in plant science. TSL is based on the Norwich Research Park and is closely linked to Gatsby, the University of East Anglia and the John Innes Centre (JIC).
TSL is dedicated to making fundamental discoveries about plants and how they interact with microbes and viruses and favours daring, long-term research over work that could be equally well carried out elsewhere. The Laboratory is recognised as a centre of excellence for research on mechanisms of plant immunity and pathogenicity, and has a budding reputation for its research in plant pathogenomics. Groundbreaking work that has arisen from the Laboratory includes the cloning of the first of the receptor-like protein class of plant resistance genes and the discovery of small interfering RNA (siRNA), the specificity determinant in RNA-mediated gene silencing.
Scientists working within the Laboratory have access to state of the art technologies and support services to enable cutting-edge science; TSL was one of the first research establishments in Europe to have access to next generation sequencing technology. Proteomics research is well supported with access to state of the art mass spectrometers and in-house scientific expertise. Similarly, high throughout cell biology research is possible using confocal high content screening microscopy instrumentation.
The Laboratory provides an outstanding training environment that prepares post-graduate students, post-doctoral scientists and early career project leaders to excel in their careers. Many scientists who have passed through The Laboratory have continued their careers in prestigious laboratories and institutes around the world.
In addition to the fundamental research conducted within the Laboratory, TSL has decided to develop the TSL+ programme which encompasses projects with a more direct applied aspect, in many cases building on discoveries that have arisen from the fundamental work in the lab. In doing this, the Laboratory commits core resources of the lab to projects that aim to reduce crop losses to important diseases. The Two Blades Foundation has a research group established within the Laboratory which focuses solely on work that falls under the TSL+ programme.
The Laboratory seeks to put all its scientific discoveries into the public domain and this is mainly achieved through participation in conferences, and publication of peer-reviewed scientific papers, review articles and popular science features. In 2010 TSL and JIC topped a survey, published by Times Higher Education, ranking the most influential papers of the last ten years in plant and animal sciences.
Research leaders:
Dr Sophien Kamoun – Head of Laboratory
Plant-microbe interactions particularly those involving oomycete pathosystems
Professor Jonathan Jones – Senior Research Scientist
How plants resist plant pathogens, and how pathogens suppress resistance
Dr Cyril Zipfel – Group Leader
Receptor kinase-mediated innate immunity in plants
Dr Silke Robatzek – Group Leader
The role of membrane-bound intracellular compartments in the communication between plants and pathogens
Dr Eric Ward - Group Leader working with the Two Blades Foundation
Using current and future knowledge of mechanisms that underpin plant disease resistance and susceptibility to attack major crop disease problems, thus reducing crop losses to disease.