UC Davis experts: Agricultural science and technology

The following UC Davis faculty are available to comment on issues related agricultural science and technology. If you need information on a topic not listed, please contact Andy Fell, News Service, (530) 752-4533, ahfell@ucdavis.edu or Patricia Bailey, News Service, (530) 752-9843, pjbailey@ucdavis.edu.

• UC Davis Biotechnology Program
• Genetically modified crops
• Gene flow from GM crops
• Organic and sustainable agriculture, community issues

UC Davis Biotechnology Program

UC Davis' Biotechnology Program promotes research, teaching and public education in biotechnology and fosters collaborations between faculty and the biotech industry. It administers the NIH Training Program in Biomolecular Technology, the Designated Emphasis in Biotechnology graduate program and the Advanced Degree Program for corporate employees. The program organizes summer courses in topics such as bioinformatics, proteomics and molecular biology for biologists and non-specialists. The program is run by Acting Director Judith Kjelstrom. Contact: Judith Kjelstrom, Biotechnology Program, (530) 752-8228, jakjelstrom@ucdavis.edu.

Genetically modified crops

• While genetically modified soybeans, maize and cotton are widely grown in the U.S., regulatory and marketing problems are preventing adoption of biotechnology for other crops such as lettuce, tomatoes and potatoes, according to Kent Bradford, director of the Seed Biotechnology Center. Bradford is an expert in seed biology and the use of seed to deliver genetically modified crop plants. Contact: Kent Bradford, Vegetable Crops, (530) 752-6087, kjbradford@ucdavis.edu.
• Rice is one of the world's most important food crops. Pamela Ronald, professor of plant pathology, isolated the first gene conferring disease resistance in rice and can comment on possible applications of biotechnology to rice and other crops and the significance of sequencing the rice genome, completed in 2002. Contact: Pamela Ronald, Plant Pathology, (530) 752-1654, pcronald@ucdavis.edu.
• David Gilchrist is a professor of plant pathology and associate director of the Center for Engineering Plants for Resistance Against Pathogens. His research interests are in studying the role of apoptosis in plant diseases and expressing novel disease resistance genes in plants. Contact: David Gilchrist, Plant Pathology, (530) 752-6614, dggilchrist@ucdavis.edu.
• Thea Wilkins is an associate professor of agronomy and director of the national cotton genome project. She studies genes important to making cotton fiber and how cotton has developed from primitive forms to high-yield commercial varieties. Contact: Thea Wilkins, Agronomy, (530) 752-0614, tawilkins@ucdavis.edu.

Gene flow from GM crops

Paul Gepts, professor of agronomy and range science at UC Davis, can discuss how genes might travel from genetically modified domestic crops to their wild relatives, and the associated risks such as effects on non-target organisms and reduction in genetic diversity. He can also discuss the potential for food crops as pharmaceutical factories and the genetic strategies to limit gene flow involving transgenes. Contact: Paul Gepts, Agronomy and Range Science, (530) 752-7743; plgepts@ucdavis.edu.

Organic and sustainable agriculture, community issues

• Tom Tomich, director of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, (SAREP), is founding director of the new Agricultural Sustainability Institute, inaugural holder of the WK Kellogg Chair in Sustainable Food Systems, and professor of community development, environmental science and policy at UC Davis. He also serves as director of the UC ANR statewide Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. Contact: Tom Tomich, SAREP, (530) 574-2503, tptomich@ucdavis.edu.
• Janet C. "Jenny" Broome, associate director of the UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SAREP), is a plant pathologist and focuses on sustainable viticulture, ecologically based pest management, and organic plant-disease management. She chairs the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences committee coordinating "The Science of Sustainable Agriculture: Measuring the Immeasurable," a major lecture series that continues through fall quarter, featuring 17 internationally recognized experts on sustainability in relation to agriculture, the environment and society. Sustainable agriculture systems are defined as those that serve society in the short and long terms, are economically viable and environmentally sound, and promote healthy communities. Contact: Janet C. "Jenny" Broome, SAREP, (530) 754-8547, jcbroome@ucdavis.edu.
• Since 1993, R. Ford Denison, a professor of agronomy, has directed UC Davis' Long Term Research on Agricultural System (LTRAS) facility. The facility, located west of the main Davis campus, hosts a 100-year experiment designed to identify trends that may undermine agricultural sustainability. Denison is an expert on biological nitrogen fixation, which is a possible alternative to nitrogen fertilizers. He frequently gives invited talks to lay audiences on environmental issues related to topics such as organic farming and transgenic crops. Contact: Ford Denison, Agronomy and Range Science, (530) 752-9688, rfdenison@ucdavis.edu.
• Shermain Hardesty, consumer specialist in the UC Davis agricultural and resource economics department and director of the UC Small Farm Center (housed at UC Davis), is an expert on cooperative theory, management and finance, and food marketing systems. Contact: Shermain Hardesty, UC Small Farm Center, (530) 752-7774, shermain@primal.ucdavis.edu.
• Gail Feenstra is a community food systems analyst with the UC Davis-based Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. She is the lead researcher on USDA and other grants studying community food security, including shopping at local farmers markets, the economic health of small regional farmers, and community food policy councils. Contact: Shermain Hardesty, SAREP, (530) 752-8408, gwfeenstra@ucdavis.edu.
• Elizabeth Mitcham, an extension specialist at the Department of Pomology, has developed a method that uses radio waves to kill pests on nuts and dried fruits. The method would replace chemical fumigation methods. Contact: Elizabeth Mitcham, Pomology, (530) 752-7512, ejmitcham@ucdavis.edu.

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