About

Established in 2011 through Gatsby’s largest-ever investment in plant science, the Sainsbury Laboratory at the University of Cambridge conducts fundamental research into the mechanisms underlying plant growth and development.

Our ambition is to gain a quantitative understanding of these mechanisms, using an interdisciplinary approach that combines the latest advances in both the physical and life sciences, combining biology, physics, mathematics and computational modelling to investigate the regulatory systems controlling plant form and function. .

Our ability to answer multi-scale questions in biology has been revolutionised by a range of new quantitative technologies and approaches. Developmental biology is at the forefront of this revolution because the relationship between molecular level and organism level events has always been at its centre.

Our strategy at SLCU is to develop experimental techniques that allow investigation of plant development at a range of scales and build a deeper understanding, bridging these scales, by developing world-class expertise in computational modelling and quantitative analysis.

Collaborations between computational and experimental researchers allow a quantitative understanding of the complex dynamical systems underlying developmental processes. To enable these collaborations, we are building the necessary physical and intellectual environment for this mode of research.

The study of plant biology is being transformed by the new scientific and technical resources made available to scientists through the Sainsbury Laboratory.

We aim to foster an environment of collective responsibility to promote the collaborative research environment needed to deliver the scientific vision of the institute. Fostering these values will continue to be a priority for SLCU. It is therefore essential that all staff feel welcomed to contribute ideas for improvements and are encouraged to take this responsibility seriously.