The Danforth Center looks to unique imaging platforms to better understand plant development. The last decade has seen an explosion of digital profiling techniques on the molecular scale. A similar surge in digital profiling of phenotypic outputs driven by advances in imaging, robotics and plant cell imaging is underway and will continue to grow rapidly over the next decade. Real-time imaging can assist plant science research in a non-destructive manner and gather data that helps address big problems like growing crops with less water and fewer other inputs or in regions with marginal soil.

Danforth Center researchers combine high-throughput phenotyping technologies, computational analysis, quantitative genetics, and molecular biology to understand plant growth and physiology. A variety of approaches employ imaging to improve and accelerate scientific understanding of photosynthesis, biomass and growth, root development and response to pests, pathogens and changing climates. Understanding these complex traits can be used to improve crop yield with minimal environmental impact..
Join us Thursday night for our Conversations program to learn first-hand how advanced imaging technologies are bridging the gaps between fundamental science and commercial applications featuring Christopher Topp, Ph.D., Assistant Member and Principal Investigator, Danforth Center, and Warren Shafer, Ph.D., Vice President Global R&D and Regulatory Affairs, Valent Biosciences LLC, and moderated by Vijay Chauhan, Global STL Lead at BioSTL.