Part of our mission is to help credible science reach policymakers, at local, national, and international levels. We are engaged in several projects pertaining to different aspects of plant biotechnology.
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The governor and the 2005 Senate charged the Oregon Departments of Agriculture and Human Services with convening a Biopharming Ad Hoc Committee. This committee, which included ORB director Steven Strauss, developed a consensus policy recommendation to the governor regarding biopharmaceuticals produced in human food or animal feed crops.
The Final Policy Statement of the Oregon Biopharmaceutical Committee was released October 30, 2006.
contact: David Harry
project initiated: July 2007
completion date: December 2008
The first genetically modified (GM) crops produced using recombinant DNA methods were released commercially about 10 years ago. Concerns about health and environmental impact prompted an assortment of monitoring and assessment efforts, most of which have been targeted to agricultural ecosystems; fewer have looked at the impact on wildland ecosystems.
The Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center (WWETAC) recognized this need. With funding from WWETAC, ORB scientists David Harry (ORB Associate Director) and Steven Strauss (Director) are collaborating with USFS (Pacific Northwest Research Station) scientist Richard Cronn to pull assessment information together.
The National Research Council (NRC) functions under the auspices of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), and the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The NAS, NAE, IOM, and NRC are part of a private, nonprofit institution that provides science, technology and health policy advice under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863.
ORB Director Steve Strauss and Associate Director Dave Harry participated in a Workshop on Genetically Engineered Organisms, Wildlife, and Habitats held November 2007 in Irvine, CA. The workshop was organized through the NRC Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources. Its goal was to evaluate the impact of GE crops on wildlife habitat, and ultimately, on wildlife. Strauss also served on the committee of experts charged with organizing the workshop.
OSU contacts: Glenn Howe, David Harry
project initiated: October 2007
completion date: September 2011
The Conifer Translational Genomics Network is a multi-institutional project being funded through the USDA's NRI Coordinated Agricultural Projects (CAP) program. Oregon State University scientists Glenn Howe, David Harry, and Nick Wheeler are working with team lead David Neale (UC Davis) and teams from several other institutions, including NC State, Texas A&M, Univ. of Florida and the US Forest Service.
The following non-technical summary was made available for the USDA's CRIS system:
The goal of the Conifer Translational Genomics Network (CTGN) project is to provide tree breeders across the US with new tools to enhance and accelerate traditional tree improvement activities. These "knowledge-based" tools derive value from experimentally demonstrated associations between traits of interest, like wood density or disease resistance, and the tree's genetic code (genetic markers). By adding genetic markers to their tool-chest, breeders will be able to select superior trees more accurately, more rapidly, and at lower cost than using traditional approaches alone.
These enhanced approaches will permit greater utilization of the abundant genetic variation inherent in tree populations while simultaneously avoiding controversy associated with other technologies such as genetic engineering. It is anticipated that within 5 years cooperatives producing virtually all of the conifer seedlings in the US (>1.3 billion annually) might benefit from this technology improvement. Methods for implementing the technology in applied tree breeding programs will be delivered directly to tree breeders managing the major tree improvement cooperatives around the country.
The project will also undertake an assertive and comprehensive education and extension program that will provide 1) a graduate-level curriculum for teaching molecular tool-based breeding in trees, and 2) widespread training for undergraduate and graduate students, tree breeders, managers, lay-people and other stakeholders through a series of workshops, internships, and classes.
contact: Steve Strauss
project initiated: January 2008
completion date: December 2009
Strauss has received a Resources for the Future (RFF) fellowship to analyze the effects of federal regulations on the research and commercial development of GE trees. Resources from the Future is a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank located in Washington, DC that conducts independent research - rooted primarily in economics and other social sciences - on environmental and natural resource issues. The proposal is entitled Environmental Regulation of Tree Biotechnology for Wood and Bioenergy.
contact: Steve Strauss
project initiated: January 2006
Director Strauss is co-chair of the Public Research & Regulation Initiative (PRRI) project on GM trees. The PRRI offers a forum for the public research sector to be informed about and involved in international agreements relevant to modern biotechnology.
Through his role in this PRRI work group, Strauss has attended meetings organized by the United Nations/Cartagena Protocol in Montreal and Italy in support of science based regulations on field testing and commercial uses of GM trees. The objective of the work group is to report to public research sector scientist about current issues in the area concerning GM trees and to provide science-based information to policy makers and regulators involved in moderating these issues.
