C-FAR Connection - Spring 2008

              IN THIS ISSUE:
Chairman Kasey: Poised for the Future ...................................2
FY09 External Program ...............................................................3
Welcome New C-FAR Members ..............................................3
Q&A with Alan Puzey ..................................................................4
High-impact Returns for Illinois ................................................5
Get to Know a C-FAR Leader ..................................................7
Websites to Watch .......................................................................7
C-FAR Instrumental in Establishment of Research Institute
The Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign (UIUC) is a state-of-the-art research facility established to
advance life science research and stimulate bio-economic development
in Illinois. Opening its doors in March 2007, this $75 million, 186,000-
square-foot facility was built in an open-laboratory design to bring
research faculty and support personnel from more than 30 academic
departments together to solve complex research problems.
Harris Lewin, director of the Institute, addressed C-FAR members at
the February Annual Meeting to provide an overview of the new research
facility. Lewin shared how C-FAR had a signifi cant infl uence on the
establishment of the Institute. “C-FAR was instrumental in getting the
funding for this important research facility,” said Lewin. “It was impor-tant
to have the backing of external constituencies such as C-FAR in
obtaining the necessary funding from the State of Illinois.”
The Institute explores three broad areas of research: systems biology,
cellular and metabolic engineering, and genome technology. Research is
focused on applications of genomic biology in addressing signifi cant
problems and opportunities in agriculture, medicine, and the environment.
C-FAR-funded research provided the groundwork for two research programs taking place at the Institute. SoyFACE
(Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment), a groundbreaking $2.1 million C-FAR research initiative, launched and funded
for seven years through the UIUC C-FAR Sentinel Program, is being continued as part of one of the Institute’s research themes
called Genomic Ecology of Global Change. This forward-thinking research focuses on growing crops under production fi eld
conditions in an atmosphere that is anticipated for the middle of this century, namely one with higher levels of carbon dioxide
and ozone. Investigators are working to discover the effects of atmospheric change on the agronomy and productivity of
Midwestern crops as well as to fi nd solutions that will lead to crops better adapted to this likely future.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
HARRIS LEWIN, DIRECTOR OF THE INSTITUTE FOR GENOMIC
BIOLOGY, SHARES WITH ANNUAL MEETING ATTENDEES C-FAR’S
IMPACT ON THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE WORLD-CLASS RESEARCH
FACILITY.
Illinois Council on Food and Agricultural Research • Vol. 10, No. 1, Spring 2008
C-FAR
CONNECTION