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The Sainsbury Laboratory
Abbreviation	TSL
Formation	1988; 36 years ago
Type	Research institute
Headquarters	Norwich, UK
Key people	Nick Talbot; Jonathan Jones Sophien Kamoun
Affiliations	University of East Anglia
Website	tsl.ac.uk

The Sainsbury Laboratory (TSL) is a research institute located at the Norwich Research Park in Norwich, Norfolk, England, that carries out fundamental biological research and technology development on aspects of plant disease, plant disease resistance and microbial symbiosis in plants. The Sainsbury Laboratory partners with the John Innes Centre on a Plant Health Institute Strategic Program (ISP) funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC).

History

In 1987, an agreement was signed to establish The Sainsbury Laboratory.^[1] This agreement made the laboratory a joint venture between several organizations, including the Gatsby Charitable Foundation,^[2] the John Innes Foundation, the University of East Anglia, and the Agricultural and Food Research Council (now BBSRC). Later that year, the laboratory employed its first members of staff. Then, in 1989, The Sainsbury Laboratory moved into its current building.^[1] This building was constructed alongside the John Innes Centre on the Norwich Research Park.^[3]

Research

The Sainsbury Laboratory conducts research on various topics related to plant-microbe interactions.^[4] It investigates innate immune recognition in plants and the signaling and cellular changes that occur during plant-microbe interactions. Additionally, researchers at the laboratory study plant and pathogen genomics to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in plant-microbe interactions.^[4]

One of the key areas of research is the identification and study of plant disease resistance genes. Another important research area is the biology of pathogen effector proteins, which play a crucial role in the interaction between plants and pathogens.^[4] With this knowledge, the laboratory employs biotechnological approaches to develop crop disease resistance. These approaches are aimed at reducing agrochemical input and the percentage of crops lost to disease.^[4]

Training

The Sainsbury Laboratory provides a training environment with the intention of preparing post-graduate students, post-doctoral scientists and early career project leaders to excel in their careers. This includes training from the expert technology groups in plant tissue culture and transformation, bioinformatics and computational biology, proteomics, and synthetic biology as well as mentoring from established scientists. In 2021, The Sainsbury Laboratory launched a one-year taught MSc in Global Plant Health in partnership with the University of East Anglia.^[5]

Facilities

Technology development

The four core technology teams of TSL develop new technologies to enhance TSL research and provide direct expert support and guidance to the other groups of TSL.

Bioinformatics – Dr Dan MacLean
Proteomics – Dr Frank Menke
Synthetic Biology – Mark Youles
Tissue Culture and Transformation – Matthew Smoker

Notable people

A number of scientists have worked at TSL including;

Funding

The Gatsby Charitable Foundation is a core funder of The Sainsbury Laboratory^[2] in addition to The University of East Anglia and a BBSRC Institute Strategic Programme Grant in Plant Health (in partnership with the John Innes Centre). The remainder of funds are sourced from competitive BBSRC and European Research Council grants, charitable and philanthropic donations and, for some research programmes, commercial companies.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Sainsbury, David. "David Sainsbury". www.davidsainsbury.org.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b Gatsby – The Sainsbury Laboratory
^ "The Sainsbury Laboratory". Norwich Research Park. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "About TSL". The Sainsbury Laboratory. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
^ "MSc Global Plant Health". www.uea.ac.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
^ TSL.ac.uk – Funding