SWEDISH SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES NETWORK

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Department of Plant Biology & Forest Genetics, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala

Postal address: Institutionen för växtbiologi och skogsgenetik, Box 7080, 750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
Visiting address: Dag Hammarskjölds väg 181
Web page: http://www.vbsg.slu.se/                           

The Department of Plant Biology and Forest Genetics was formed in 2003 by the fusion of the department of Plant Biology and the department of Forest Genetics. It has the strategic goal to become an internationally well-known scientific center for plant research and education.

South Asia related research:

Till February 2008, Prof. Christer Jansson was the Head of the department. He led a research group working with ”Plant Metabolic Engineering of Carbohydrate Synthesis”. In August 2005 he received SEK 55 000 as a SASNET planning grant for a project titled ” New rice cultivars with improved endosperm properties – a collaborative project between SLU, Sweden and IBMBB, Sri Lanka”.

It was supposed to become a collaboration between SLU and a research group led by research associate Dr. Ovitigala Weerasena at the Institute of Biochemistry Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IBMBB), University of Colombo, Sri Lanka. The collaboration was initiated by a request from Prof. Karunanayake, Director of IBMBB and Senior Professor of Biochemistry, during his visit to SLU, Uppsala in early 2005.
The Institute of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (IBMBB) was ceremonially opened on 28th April 2004 by the Swedish Ambassador in Sri Lanka and Prof. Ulf Pettersson, Vice-Rector, University of Uppsala, Sweden. The laboratory complex with a floor area of approximately 27,000 sq.ft. spread over two wings, each with four floors, is located in the main campus of the University of Colombo. The IBMBB is equipped with all modern instruments used in molecular life sciences such as fully automated DNA sequences, FPLC, HPLC, Fluorescence and Phase contrast microscopes, laminar flow hoods, animal and plant cell culture facilities, experimental animal house, cold rooms, local area networking, access to internet via dedicated optical fiber cable and is fully air-conditioned.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Professon Jansson’s research project was never possible to realise. In March 2010, the department therefore returned the grant money to SASNET.
Since February 2008, Prof. Christer Jansson works at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) in Berkeley, California, USA, as Senior Staff Scientist at LBNL’s Earth Science Division. To some extent he is however still connected to the research group at the Dept. of Plant Biology & Forest Genetics at SLU. See his personal web page.

Sylvia Lindberg was Professor in Plant Physiology at the department till 2006. The same year she started a research project on ”Salinity stress and crop responses – physiological and molecular processes in rice”, a project carried out in collaboration with colleagues in Germany and Bangladesh. It received funding from Sida/SAREC. Prof. Lindberg has now moved (along with her project) to the Dept. of Botany, Stockholm University. More information.