Boyce Thompson Institute

06/08/2026

Let's get to know our 2026 summer REU students!

06/04/2026

Huge congratulations to the team at Ascribe Bio on their new collaboration with Syngenta! It is incredibly rewarding to see a company that was founded on BTI technology taking such massive steps toward global food security. Read more about how their natural crop protection product, PHYTALIX®, will be reaching farmers across Asia: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260603799343/en/Syngenta-and-Ascribe-Bioscience-Partner-to-Bring-New-Biofungicide-to-Asian-Farmers

06/03/2026

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to our summer REU students! We're thrilled to have them at BTI and can't wait to share their research, discoveries, and summer adventures in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned for updates as they explore, learn, and contribute to cutting-edge science.

06/02/2026

For more than 100 years, BTI has been a place where bold ideas take root — and sometimes grow into something even bigger.

BTI alumnus Pedro Rodrigues has co-founded PrecizionIQ, an India-based health technology startup developing non-invasive prenatal diagnostics that recently earned top honors at the PanIIT Bangalore Summit 2026. The company is also advised by former BTI employee Murli Manohar and BTI emeritus faculty member Daniel Klessig, highlighting the lasting connections and collaborations that grow from the BTI community.

Read how BTI's culture of discovery, mentorship, and innovation is helping shape the future of global health innovation: https://btiscience.org/from-discovery-to-startup-how-bti-continues-to-cultivate-scientific-innovation-across-the-globe/

Since its founding more than a century ago, the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) has been a place where bold scientific ideas take root.

05/27/2026

Today we took a "paws" from our normal activities for some very important research on ear scratches, belly rubs, and treat distribution. Thanks to Cornell Companions for helping BTI take a Paws for a Break today!

05/18/2026

PhD candidate Yu-Heng Hsieh is studying the signaling compounds that help plants recruit nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria, research that could one day help reduce the need for agricultural fertilizers. This work was made possible through support from the Triad Foundation, helping advance innovative research with real-world agricultural impact.

05/15/2026

This week, we were proud to welcome the BTI Board of Directors for an engaging and productive visit focused on the future of the Institute. Discussions around BTI’s Strategic Plan highlighted the strong community, collaboration, and leadership driving our mission forward.

We’re also excited to congratulate Dr. Andrew Nelson on his unanimous approval as BTI’s new Vice President of Research!

Thank you to everyone who helped make the visit such a success — and to our Board members, faculty, and staff whose dedication continues to drive BTI forward through innovation, collaboration, and discovery.

05/13/2026

BTI PhD candidate Elizabeth "Lizzie" Trost is digging into the powerful partnership between plants and mycorrhizal fungi. With support from the Triad Foundation, Lizzie is exploring the molecular biology behind this underground teamwork and helping pave the way for stronger, more resilient crops in the future. Watch to learn how tiny fungi could help grow big solutions for agriculture.

05/08/2026

For hundreds of millions of years, plants and fungi have been trading nutrients underground. Plants provide lipids; fungi supply phosphorus in return. It's one of the most ancient partnerships in biology – and it helps plants thrive even in nutrient-poor soils.

But one basic question has never been answered: how do beneficial fungi grow into and through plant cells without destroying them in the process?

That's the question at the center of Dr. Natalie Hoffmann's research, and it's what earned her the inaugural Jane Silverthorne Postdoctoral Fellowship at BTI.

Working in the lab of Dr. Maria Harrison, Hoffmann will use cutting-edge imaging tools and CRISPR gene editing to understand how plants allow beneficial fungi to enter their cell walls. The answers could point toward new ways to support crop growth and food security.

The Jane Silverthorne Postdoctoral Fellowship was established through a generous gift from the estate of Dr. Jane Silverthorne, a celebrated plant biologist and BTI Board member whose belief in curiosity-driven science and cross-disciplinary collaboration lives on through this award.

“I’m incredibly honored to receive this fellowship,” Hoffmann said. “It will enable me to learn advanced microscopy techniques, build collaborations across three countries, and continue working at an institute that’s internationally recognized as a leader in plant research. BTI is the perfect environment for tackling a question this ambitious.”

Read the full story: https://btiscience.org/bti-names-dr-natalie-hoffmann-inaugural-jane-silverthorne-postdoctoral-fellow/

Fungi and plants have been trading nutrients underground for hundreds of millions of years. But one basic question has never been answered: how do beneficial

05/06/2026

Ever wonder what makes watermelon so sweet and vibrantly red? It's genetics – shaped over millions of years and refined through centuries of human breeding. But this same process also stripped away traits that make watermelons more resilient against disease and environmental stress.

BTI scientist Dr. Zhangjun Fei and an international team just published a new resource to help change that: the watermelon super-pangenome, integrating 138 genomes from all seven wild and cultivated watermelon species. Published in Nature Genetics, the work identifies specific genetic variants linked to fruit sweetness, flesh color, and pathogen resistance – some of which couldn't have been detected with any previous method.

The team also built predictive breeding models from their findings. The application is faster, more targeted development of watermelons that are tough enough to handle disease pressure and good enough to keep earning a spot at the table.

Read the full story here: https://btiscience.org/super-powered-population-genomics-watermelon-super-pangenome-paves-the-way-for-precision-breeding/

Watermelon is a quintessential summertime fruit, evoking images of warm, sunny afternoons and cookouts with friends and family. You can easily picture its