Joyce Van Eck is a plant biologist and faculty member at the

Boyce Thompson Institute The Boyce Thompson Institute (previously: Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research) is an independent research institute devoted to using plant sciences to improve agriculture, protect the environment, and enhance human health. The Boyce Thomp ...

in Ithaca, NY. She is an adjunct professor in the Section of Plant Breeding and Genetics at Cornell University.

Education

Van Eck attended Pennsylvania State University as an undergraduate, receiving a bachelor's degree in

plant breeding Plant breeding is the science of changing the traits of plants in order to produce desired characteristics. It is used to improve the quality of plant products for use by humans and animals. The goals of plant breeding are to produce crop varie ...

. She studied plant tissue culture at the

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

with Sherry L. Kitto including the regeneration of mint species from culture. She completed her PhD at Cornell University in 1993. In 2008 she became the director of the Boyce Thompson Center for Biotechnology, and in 2013 was promoted to assistant professor.

Research

Van Eck was responsible for the first use of

Cas9 Cas9 (CRISPR associated protein 9, formerly called Cas5, Csn1, or Csx12) is a 160 dalton (unit), kilodalton protein which plays a vital role in the immunological defense of certain bacteria against DNA viruses and plasmids, and is heavily utili ...

for genome editing in tomato. She used a similar genome editing approach to conduct ''de novo'' domestication of the

ground cherry ''Physalis'' (, , , , from 'bladder') is a genus of approximately 75 to 90 flowering plants in the nightshade family (Solanaceae), which are native to the Americas and Australasia. At least 46 species are endemic to Mexico. Cultivated and weed ...

. By editing three genes, her lab developed new varieties of ground cherries that were more compact and produced more flowers and larger fruits. She is part of the

Physalis ''Physalis'' (, , , , from 'bladder') is a genus of approximately 75 to 90 flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family (Solanaceae), which are native to the Americas and Australasia. At least 46 species are endemism, endemic to Mexico. ...

Improvement Project which is studying how goldenberries, ground cherries, and

tomatillos The tomatillo (''Physalis philadelphica'' and ''Physalis ixocarpa''), also known as the Mexican husk tomato, is a plant of the nightshade family bearing small, spherical, and green or green-purple fruit. Tomatillos originated in Mexico and were ...

grow across the country. Since 2021, she has served as a senior leader for the Center for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS) project, a

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

-funded Science and Technology Center led by

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van Eck, Joyce M Living people Year of birth missing (living people) American women botanists American botanists American geneticists Cornell University alumni Cornell University faculty Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences alumni University of Delaware alumni American women academics 21st-century American women