According to AgFunder News, gene editing startups have raised $2.7 billion since 2012 in pursuit of technologies that advance everything from crop performance to yield. Today we are joined by a pioneer in science at the largest pure play agriculture company in the world. Dr. Wendy Srnic, VP of Biotechnology at Corteva Agriscience, to talk gene editing and its future. We get into:
What is gene editing and how does it differ from genetically modified crops?
How gene editing affects that broader value chain and food system at large.
Corteva’s partnership with Pairwise via their investment vehicle, Corteva Catalyst, and how they plan to leverage gene editing to make fruits and vegetables more accessible and nutritious.
The objective of Corteva Catalyst to advance external technologies that align with the company’s internal R&D strategy – and the importance of staying nimble to seize opportunities and drive outcomes whether they are joint ventures, acquisitions, investments or traditional collaborations.
Wendy’s perspective on where we’re at in the evolution of biotechnology, what’s emerging and how artificial intelligence (AI) is speeding up – and de-risking – the scientific discovery process.
What does AI bring to the future of a partnership like that of Corteva and Pairwise?
Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research at Purdue University, has announced that she will retire June 30.
A national search will be launched immediately to identify Plaut’s successor. Lucy Flesch, the Frederick L. Hovde Dean of the College of Science and professor of earth, atmospheric, and planetary sciences, will chair a search advisory committee. The full committee will be announced next week.
“As Dr. Plaut plans her retirement from the university, we offer our deepest appreciation for her tremendous contributions. She has made multifaceted and outstanding contributions to Purdue since 2010, including these two and half years as EVP for research,” Purdue President Mung Chiang said. “In particular, she pioneered Purdue’s efforts in the Institute for Physical AI, the Purdue Applied Research Institute and One Health; created new partnerships with national labs, the Department of Defense, the Indianapolis ecosystem and private sector; launched dozens of impactful efforts to support research by faculty, staff and PhD students; and activated both new software and AI tools and hardware infrastructure for almost every department and every research institute and center on campus. Record funding throughout the sponsored research pipeline is but one reflection of her leadership as she helped enhance the very culture of research excellence at scale at Purdue, which the whole Purdue team will continue to rapidly advance in the many years to come.”
Since assuming her current position in January 2023, Plaut has fostered an environment for research and collaboration by helping to build interdisciplinary relationships between researchers for broader impact. The results have been most visible in her success in several key research areas:
Developing the Institute for Physical AI, bringing together researchers from across the university’s signature strengths in materials science, engineering, microelectronics, computer science, agriculture and life sciences to help solve the world’s toughest challenges
Plaut’s successes are also evident in the continued growth of Purdue’s research portfolio, which surpassed $3 billion in fiscal year 2024. She has developed or relaunched programs aimed at providing internal funding to seed research, increased support for large multidisciplinary grants, streamlined processes and incentivized faculty success.
Plaut came to Purdue in 2010 as associate dean for research for the College of Agriculture, was named senior associate dean of research and faculty affairs in 2013 and became the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture in 2018. With the college’s focus on digital agriculture and data science, its ranking rose to No. 4 in the U.S. and No. 8 in the world. Under Plaut’s direction, the Purdue Moves and Next Moves investments in the Institute for Plant Sciences positioned Purdue as a global leader in developing and delivering innovation, technology and human capacity in plant phenomics, digital forestry and consumer behavior.
A researcher at heart, Plaut has approximately 100 publications focused on mammary gland biology and has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation and NASA.
Plaut received her bachelor’s degree in animal science from the University of Vermont. She went on to receive a master’s degree in animal nutrition from Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in animal science from Cornell University. She completed her postdoctoral studies at the National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health and was a faculty member at the University of Vermont and Michigan State University, serving as chair of the Department of Animal Sciences at both institutions. Plaut also worked with NASA as lead scientist for the International Space Station Biological Research Project.
Mira gala is February 27 at The Palladium
TechPoint, the industry-led growth initiative for Indiana’s digital innovation economy, today opened sales for a limited number of tickets to the 2025 Mira Awards, commonly known as “The Oscars of Indiana Tech.”
Mira judges, finalists and sponsors are given first opportunity for tickets.
“Mira is becoming Indiana’s biggest night for tech and innovation. With capacity capped at 1,500 at The Palladium at Allied Solutions Center for the Performing Arts, we have fewer than 200 general tickets available,” said TechPoint President and CEO Ting Gootee. “If you have an interest in witnessing Indiana’s most interesting and innovative leaders, this is your opportunity.”
The Mira Awards program recognizes excellence and innovation in 20 award categories highlighting organizations and individuals representing the best and brightest innovators across the state. The gala will celebrate innovators in technology, life sciences, advanced manufacturing and logistics, agbioscience and academia for product and service innovations as well as for their efforts to grow the tech workforce.
Simply being a Mira Award finalist has garnered honorees attention from investors, potential partners and employees who want to work with exciting enterprises. Learn more about the Mira gala and see award categories and the finalists vying for top honors here.
Gala tickets are $200 each and may be purchased online. Additional opportunities to attend the gala are available via volunteering.
A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are available until January 31, 2025. Contact TechPoint at [email protected] to explore them.
The 6th Annual Indiana Science Communication Day is being held March 3rd 2025 at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis from 9:00am-3:00pm EST. Join fellow graduate students from across the state for the chance to engage with policymakers and practice communicating your research to a non-technical audience.
Join us on zoom at 6:00 pm on January 14th for an open/optional office hours for questions regarding IN Sci Comm Day. It is a great time to ask organizers any questions, if you are curious and interested to join us! See flyer for zoom link.
In addition to attending the Communication Day in-person, all attendees are expected to attend two events: a Science Policy Communication Workshop on Monday, January 27th and a virtual All-Participant Prep Meeting on February 17th from 6:00-7:30 pm EST. If you have prior conflicts and cannot attend one or both of these virtual preparatory meetings, please reach out to the event organizers to determine possible accommodations. The workshop is an all day event, but we recognize some people may have prior conflicts that require them to miss part of the day. The workshop can be joined in person (strongly encouraged) or virtually and must be registered for separately.
This event is free to attend, and participants have the opportunity to apply for assistance with poster printing costs and reimbursement for gas money for those who carpool together to drive into Indianapolis. We don’t want finances (or anything else) to be a barrier for attendance, so there are questions below to help us provide accommodations. Please reach out to [email protected] (with the subject line: INSciCommDay25 Assistance) if you have any specific needs and we will do our absolute best to provide those.
According to Zion Market Research, the ag biological products market is expected to grow to $320 billion over the next decade. With a huge connection to agbioscience, what does it mean for farmers? What does it mean for agbioscience innovators? Kicking off season 8 of Agbioscience is BioBond CEO Marc McConnaughey. We get into:
What exactly is the bioproducts market and how is demand growing?
How BioBond’s sustainable adhesives and protective coatings created a eureka moment for Marc as a serial entrepreneur.
The Generation Food Rural Partners Fund and its partnership to help BioBond grow its business in rural Indiana.
BioBond’s strategy as a technology execution platform that licenses from universities and how its position near Purdue has created opportunities for innovation + talent.
Indiana farmers as a critical piece to BioBond’s future and how the state is a perfect storm of location, logistics and people to aid in their success.
What’s ahead for BioBond? Hint: continued focus on the customer and of course, revenue.
Velocity empowers innovators to develop solutions in bioinnovation, farmer-focused innovation and food is health; Registration deadline is January 24
AgriNovus Indiana, an initiative to grow the agbioscience economy, announced today the launch of Velocity, a six-month agbioscience accelerator to inspire the creation of tech-enabled businesses to address many of the toughest challenges facing the food and agbioscience economy.
In partnership with the Indiana Corn Marketing Council, Indiana Soybean Alliance, Elevance Health, Beck’s Hybrids and Ag Alumni Seed, Velocity challenges students, startups and existing companies to create solutions to fill research-defined gaps in three critical areas: bioinnovation, farmer-focused innovation and food is health. The entrepreneur who presents the top solution in each of these three gaps will receive $25,000.
“Bioinnovation, farmer-focused innovation and food is health are the top three forces of change that will shape the next chapter of our agbioscience economy,” said Mitch Frazier, president and CEO of AgriNovus. “Velocity creates a powerful new platform for innovators to explore these forces, identify unique approaches to address the opportunities they create and develop solutions to uniquely solve some of the world’s toughest challenges in agbioscience – from the future of food to improving farm profitability.”
Velocity’s central focus on addressing the three forces of change include:
BioInnovation
There is an unprecedented demand for bio-based innovation globally as many are increasingly look to replace petrochemicals with renewable solutions, such as alternative fuels, green chemistry and more sustainable and bio-based products – from packaging to cosmetics. Needed innovations may include:
Developing technology focused on the use of novel microorganisms, biological transformations and biomolecules that unlock markets for bio-based products, sustainable bioinputs and biofuels and alternative energy;
Accelerating commercialization of modern biotechnology products that identify domestic supplies of important materials; or
Establishing pilot-sale biological innovation that bring novel technology to the agbioscience ecosystem.
Farmer Focused Innovation
Farmers face compounding risks – from weather variability and variable commodity markets to regulatory uncertainty and ever-evolving consumer preferences – adding uncertainty to a challenging business. Needed innovations may include:
Consolidating financial, agronomic and credit program data to enable seamless access and management in real-time;
Streamlining administrative processes to gain efficiencies in operational management;
Automating labor scheduling, tracking time and task assignment based on real time operational needs and worker availability;
Integrating robotics and automation to supplement human labor, addressing worker shortages while minimizing financial and logistical burdens on producers.
Food is Health
Fourteen percent of all households in the United States experience food insecurity, adults in those households are 15.3 percent more likely to have chronic illnesses and 19 percent of commercially insured patients over the age of 18 list access to healthy food as a health-related social need. Needed innovations may include:
Accelerating technologies to increase access high quality nutrition;
Improving middle-mile logistics to gain efficiencies post-farmgate and pre-dinner plate; or
Unlocking the power of food at the production and/or molecular level to positively impact healthier human lives.
Velocity’s three tracks will be guided by research and strong mentorship throughout the six-month accelerator. The program will culminate with a demo day event and winning check presentations on June 18, 2025.
Companies, individuals and entrepreneurs who want to participate in Velocity can access more information and a registration link here. The deadline to register is January 24, 2025.
The launch of Velocity aligns with a recent report from EntreWorks in partnership with AgriNovus and the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP). The study, Unlocking IP: Leveraging Indiana’s R&D Assets to Boost Entrepreneurship, recommends continued growth of challenge series to further entrepreneurship and innovation across the state. Velocity is an evolution of AgriNovus’ previous Innovation Challenge Series focused on farmer innovation and food security.
Food is the only economy in the world that touches every person on the planet. We are all connected to food, and one of the world’s top marketers turned entrepreneur is now making the connection between farms, food, and people. Scott Nelson, CEO of Make Hay, joins us to talk all things consumers and connecting to the meaningful world of agriculture. We get into:
The existing gap between farms, food and people – and the opportunity to leverage today’s media landscape to connect all three.
His time at Panera and how it shaped his viewpoint on storytelling for brands.
How Scott’s background brought him to Make Hay + what the company aims to do.
Make Hay’s relationship with Purdue’s DIAL Ventures and High Alpha, and how it’s accelerating their business.
Scott’s vision for Make Hay – creating content for food transparency at scale, consumer awareness and farmers at the center of it all.
Where Make Hay is at today and what’s ahead.
