Donald Danforth Plant Science Center

Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a St. Louis-based nonprofit organization that focuses research at the nexus of food security and the environment to address some of the most important global challenges of the 21st century. We seek to increase agricultural productivity to sustainably feed people today and nearly 10 billion people by the middle of the century, and to do so with a lower environmental footprint and with fewer natural resources.

The mission of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is simple: to improve the human condition through plant science. We are the largest independent nonprofit dedicated to plant science in the world. Through plant science, we aim to:

* Feed the hungry and improve human health
* Preserve and renew the environment
* Enhance the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science

The focus of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is scientific research at the nexus of food, energy, and the environment to improve the productivity and sustainability of agriculture. With the assitance of our cutting-edge core facilities, we assemble interactive teams of scientists and develop unique platforms to discover underlying principles about how plants work. We then convert that knowledge into useful crops and products, and partner with organizations that are best positioned to solve problems where they exist around the world.

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is well equipped to tackle our goals. We have:
• More than 300 employees, 26 scientific teams with staff from 20 countries
• Collaborative research projects across the globe
• Total gross square footage: 303,860 sq. ft.
• Laboratory space: 26+ suites; over 77,458 sq. ft. total including lab support
• Greenhouse complex: 43 bays providing 54,130 total sq. ft. of active growth space
• $200M in competitive research funding from government agencies, industry, and foundations
• $50M investment in core technologies
• $31M annual operating budget
• 7 startup companies launched by faculty, and 11 patents
• Faculty and graduate student affiliations: Washington University in St. Louis, University of Missouri Columbia, University of Missouri St. Louis, and Saint Louis University

The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is helping to feed the world and heal the planet. Important recent developments include:

* Delivery of pod-borer resistant black-eyed peas approved in Nigeria.
* Development of virus-resistant cassava, an important food security crop for 500M people
* Development of micronutrient-enriched cassava to battle the "hidden hunger" of nutritional deficiency, a problem for nearly half of all people in developing countries.
* Progress in sorghum genetics research, an important food in drought-prone regions, and an important, but poorly understood, candidate for bioenergy.
* Foundational research into the genetics of all major crops--corn, rice, wheat, soy--with a goal of improving drought- and stress-tolerance in the face of climate change.
* Discovery and development of perennial crops that might both feed people as well as improve soils.

Economic Development
The Danforth Center places an unusually high emphasis on formation and attraction of innovative plant science-based companies. The BioResearch & Development Growth (BRDG) Park and [email protected] on our campus serve as home to 16 enterprises employing 400 people. Tenants include startups and mid-stage companies that have grown in the ecosystem as well as international companies that have chosen to establish their North American headquarters in the 39 North innovation community. St. Louis Economic Development Partnership estimates that our impact is $377M annually to the region.

Education and Outreach
Education and training infuses all of the Center’s research programs and students come from around the world. Since inception, we have trained more than 530 people from 52 countries. The Center hosts the prestigious NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU). Ninety percent of former interns have gone on to pursue advanced degrees in science or work full-time in the field of science. Danforth Center K – 12 outreach and education provides STEM enrichment and career introduction to over 3,500 school children annually throughout the region.

Funding
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center’s work is funded through competitive grants from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Nearly half of all annual operating revenue comes from the generosity of individual donors and foundations.