天美传媒

Toni Kutchan serves a vice president for research and is the Oliver M. Langenberg Distinguished Investigator at the Danforth Center where she is investigating two aspects of natural products that are found in plants; how plants produce medicinal natural products at the enzyme and gene level, which could lead to new sources of medications for use against conditions such as dementia and cancer; and the use of plant natural products as components of biofuels.

She is a leading expert in the molecules derived from the opium poppy, including the lifesaving opioid antidote medications. 鈥淧roduction of these drugs creates an industrial waste stream. It鈥檚 not good for the people working in the lab, and it creates a nasty waste pond. We have recently discovered a microorganism that can manufacture opiates in a cleaner, more sustainable way. Now we鈥檙e looking for industrial partners who can help us transform this lab work into an industry process.鈥�

As a recipient of federal research grants, the Danforth Center is prohibited from working on medical cannabis. However, Missouri recently legalized the production of industrial hemp, a crop which was king in Missouri in the late 1800s and which produces high-quality fiber useful in many products, such as textiles, rope, paper, and cosmetics. The Danforth Center and the Kutchan Lab are already forming partnerships. 鈥淲ith the cutting-edge technology and infrastructure at the Danforth Center, we can accelerate the breeding and help reestablish this useful cash crop in the state of Missouri. Hemp has been illegal for 100 years. We are now attempting to go from zero to introducing a modern crop.鈥�
 
Prior to joining the Center in 2006, she spent 20 years researching biochemistry at the University of Munich and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biology.  In recognition of her scientific achievements, Toni was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2017 and the prestigious German Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina) in 2010. She received her doctorate in biochemistry from Saint Louis University and a bachelor鈥檚 degree in chemistry from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
 
Toni credits training the next generation of scientists as a very rewarding part of her work at the Danforth Center and adds: 鈥淭raining the up-and-coming generations is so important, making sure they have broad interests and perspective. Together, we can make the world a better place, safer, more sustainable. By unlocking the secrets of plants, we will make peoples鈥� lives better鈥攁nd that鈥檚 a good feeling.鈥�
 

Kirk is an internationally renowned expert in bioimaging with 30 years鈥� experience and over 100 publications. He is proud of his role in discovering a new imaging approach to follow subcellular calcium signaling in filamentous fungi鈥攁 world first. His research today focuses on small microbes that cause disease in both humans and plants. And he is dedicated to his role at the Danforth Center, partnering with numerous colleagues to help advance their research as well.
 
In 2019, Kirk joined the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center as a principal investigator and director of the Advanced Bioimaging Laboratory Facility, to leverage advanced microscopy tools in plant science dedicated to producing more nutritious food and improving the environment. With over 30 years of advanced microscopy experience, Dr. Czymmek has expertise in most forms of light, X-ray, and electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, single-molecule imaging, superresolution microscopy, cryotechniques, and correlative microscopy. His work on developing and applying cutting-edge microscopy tools for imaging cells, tissues, and biomaterials has generated over 95 refereed publications.

Prior to joining the Danforth Center, Kirk served as Vice President of Global ZEISS Microscopy Customer Centers and oversight of eight customer centers and their teams worldwide. He joined the company in 2012 to build a world-class application, demonstration, and training center for the ZEISS microscopy portfolio for North America. From 2000 to 2012 he was an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware (UD) where he worked to build an imaging capacity that led in 2001 to the creation of the UD Bio-Imaging Center at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute, where he served as Director.

Kirk received his doctorate in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Michigan State University in 1993 followed by a post-doctoral position at the DuPont Company in CR&D Plant Molecular Genetics group. Subsequently, he worked with Noran Instruments in the confocal business group as an applications scientist before joining the University of Delaware.  He has received many awards and honors for his achievements in the field.

Dr. Alexander Beliaev leads EMSL's . He is also the Synthetic Biology team leader for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory's Biological Sciences Division. His expertise and interests span systems microbiology, functional genomics, synthetic biology, and biotechnology.
Over the last two decades, Beliaev’s work has focused on predictive understanding of energy and materials conversion by microbes with emphasis on metabolic and regulatory controls guiding these processes. He has led and co-led multi-institutional projects focusing on the diversity of microbial metabolism: from extracellular electron transfer in chemolithotrophic bacteria to photosynthetic energy capture in oxygenic phototrophs. This work led to the discovery of the molecular basis of dissimilatory metal reduction by marine and subsurface microorganisms, as well as to development of a broad understanding of mechanisms by which cyanobacteria maximize energy conversion to achieve ultrahigh growth. His academic and educational accomplishments have also led to a joint appointment with the Centre for Agriculture and the Bioeconomy at the Queensland University of Technology, where he serves as a professor of biotechnology.
Today, Beliaev is exploring fundamental mechanisms and design principles that govern the functioning of multi-species systems. He is incorporating cutting-edge measurement technologies into systems and synthetic biology approaches, especially with respect to microbial community function and host-microbe interactions, to take knowledge from the laboratory to the field and translate it into industrial applications and partnerships with industry.