Programmable Plants
Plants have paved the way for human existence and hold the key to solving some of our most pressing challenges, from food insecurity to environmental degradation. Programmable plants could secure our future on Earth, providing not just food, but a sustainable and thriving biosphere for future generations.
What is an opportunity space?
Opportunity spaces are areas of research that we believe are ripe for breakthroughs. They are defined by our Programme Directors, and must be highly consequential for society, under-explored relative to their potential impact, and ripe for new talent, perspectives, or resources to change what’s possible.
Core beliefs
The core beliefs that underpin this opportunity space:
Today’s agricultural system is struggling to address the twin challenges of an unsustainable food supply and an unstable climate → we need a paradigm shift to accelerate agricultural innovation.
Plants represent 80% of Earth’s biomass and are rapidly, cost-effectively and widely distributed across our planet → plants represent an ideal technological platform to provide low-cost, sustainable resources at scale.
Advances in gene editing and genetic modification are revolutionising our ability to tailor the traits of organisms → we can predictably and efficiently develop new plants to provide all of society with abundant and sustainable resources: food, fuel, medicine, shelter, and beyond.
Programme spotlight: Synthetic Plants
Representing eighty percent of the world’s biomass, plants are a critical lever for addressing the twin challenges of food insecurity and climate change. Synthetic biology is already revolutionising the world of healthcare but could transform agriculture if applied to tailoring plant traits, and benefits could extend from food to pharmaceuticals and beyond.
We aim to develop synthetic chromosomes and chloroplasts that are viable in a living plant. This will move beyond gene editing to imbue plants with new functionalities, from reducing agricultural water use to protecting crop yields in uncertain conditions.
Backed by £62.4m, this programme aims to unite expertise in synthetic biology and plant biology to catalyse a new generation of major crops that are more productive, resilient, and sustainable.
This programme is currently closed for applications.
Opportunity seeds
From landmine-clearing plants to leveraging stochasticity in synthetic biology, discover the opportunity seeds we’re funding in Programmable Plants.
Meet the programme team
Our Programme Directors are supported by a Programme Specialist (P-Spec) and Technical Specialist (T-Spec); this is the nucleus of each programme team. P-Specs co-ordinate and oversee the project management of their respective programmes, whilst T-Specs provide highly specialised and targeted technical expertise to support programmatic rigour.
Angie Burnett
Programme Director
Angie Burnett is a plant biologist and has spent the last decade focusing on understanding the power of plants to solve some of our most pressing challenges such as food insecurity, climate change and environmental degradation. Previously, Angie was a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge.
Nivashinee Krishnakumar
Programme Specialist
Nivashinee has more than five years’ experience in programme management and project delivery. She led high profile projects at a leading global technology consultancy and has worked within delivery management in a variety of industries, ranging from edtech and life sciences to the aviation aftermarket. Nivashinee supports ARIA as an Operating Partner from Pace.
Fabrizio Ticchiarelli-Marjot
Technical Specialist
As a plant scientist with a PhD from Cambridge, Fabrizio has spent ten years advancing plant biology knowledge and its translation to products. Before ARIA, he spent five years working in early-stage tech startups, consulting on lab automation at Synthace for Pharma and Crop Protection companies, then at Gardin where he led the plant science team and headed delivery of the R&D product offering.
Our other opportunity spaces
Our opportunity spaces are designed as an open invitation for researchers from across disciplines and institutions to learn with us and contribute – a variety of perspectives are just what we need to change what’s possible.