Award details

CEPAMS Newton Fund: Sino-UK excellence with impact on the Sustainable Development Goals

Reference	BB/T004363/1
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Mr Christopher Darby
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors	Professor Raymond Alan Dixon, Dr Jacob Malone, Professor Cathie Martin, Professor Anne Osbourn
Institution	John Innes Centre
Department	Directorate
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	2,013,638
Status	Completed
Type	Research Grant
Start date	01/05/2019
End date	31/03/2022
Duration	35 months

Abstract

unavailable

Summary

The John Innes Centre's track record in China is very significant indeed. Just one year after Deng Xiaoping's opening reforms were initiated in 1978, the first Chinese scientist to arrive at JIC was Zhihong Xu. Professor Xu went on to be President of Peking University and Vice-President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Since that time, hundreds of Chinese scientists have received their training at JIC. Today, the very best Chinese scientists maintain their close association to JIC. Their work has had real impact on China's food security and health. In 2014, JIC established the Centre of Excellence for Plant and Microbial Sciences (CEPAMS) with the Chinese Academy of Sciences. CEPAMS has been a scientific and diplomatic success story. Building on JIC's long association with China, CEPAMS has seeded excellent, productive research collaborations, established new, world-leading laboratories and nurtured the Sino-UK bilateral relationship. This new project builds on past success to launch a second phase focussed on the impact of CEPAMS on the sustainable development goals in the developing world. The second phase of CEPAMS will involve collaborative research projects between JIC and CAS scientists plus dedicated CEPAMS laboratories in Beijing and Shanghai. The work of both will be explicitly linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and underpinned by an emerging Africa-Britain-China initiative. One theme of research in this new project will explore the anti-cancer properties of some plants used in traditional Chinese medicine (Skullcaps). A better understanding of these plants could lead to improved efficacy (health outcomes) of traditional medicines and also improved commercial impact of these medicines on the Chinese economy. In addition to JIC and CAS, this theme will also recruit the expertise of the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew to explore medicinal plants in other developing countries and involve African partners. Another theme will look at the close association between plants and microbes and how this association can be both harmful and beneficial. A better understanding of these associations could lead to future growth in crop yields, reductions in crop disease and fewer chemical treatments for crops (e.g. fertilizers and pesticides). The research will look crops that are of growing importance in China (and other developing countries) including oats, tomatoes and kiwi fruit

Impact Summary

This project will address several sustainable development goals: SDG1 (no poverty) The project will aid Chinese (and wider developing country) economic development by providing inputs to economic impact from farming and from traditional medicines. These inputs not only provide impact through direct commercial applicability of improved crops and medicines but also impact though healthier, more productive citizens who have access to an adequate, nutritious diet and affordable medicines. SDG2 (zero hunger) This project will protect and promote Chinese food security (and that of wider developing countries) by providing inputs to improved crops and agricultural practices. Depending on the exact portfolio of research themes chosen, crops with increased yield, improved nutrition, improved disease resistance and improved drought resistance might emerge from this project. An improved understanding of plant-microbe interactions will also improve agricultural practices leading to increased agricultural productivity. SDG3 (good health and wellbeing) This project will contribute to the health and wellbeing of Chinese citizens (and that of those from wider developing countries) by promoting the application and efficacy of traditional Chinese medicines - either as traditionally prescribed or as presented in the form of isolated pharmaceuticals. This project could (depending on the research themes chosen) also provide inputs to more nutritious diets, for example through the biofortification of Chinese staple foods. SDG17 (partnerships for the goals) CEPAMS is the most advanced Sino-UK collaboration in the life sciences. This project will continue to provide a beacon for success in the bilateral relationship as it might be applied to the sustainable development goals, especially for the important link with the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Committee	Not funded via Committee
Research Topics	Plant Science
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	Newton Fund Open Call (NF) [2015]
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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