The New Life Sciences Initiative is a university-wide collaboration to develop and launch a multiyear, $600-million campaign that will enhance and support life sciences research and education. It is the most far-reaching research initiative in Cornell history and a top university priority. Steve Tanksley, professor of plant breeding, has played a leadership role in conceptualizing and advancing this initiative.
The multidisciplinary field of life sciences is making it possible to study life in much greater depth, to generate more specialized data, and to analyze research findings more quickly than ever before. Life sciences research has already altered our understanding of the origins of life and improved the quality of life.
In particular, completion of specific plant, animal, and human genomes has helped us understand how all life forms share gene functions. Applications of this knowledge are enabling scientists to find genetic causes of diseases, address global food shortages by developing hardier crops, and protect the environment.
Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is at the forefront of life sciences research and discovery. CALS has diverse strengths across the biological sciences and a record of producing groundbreaking research. Life sciences discoveries made by CALS faculty often translate into new technologies and commercial products that provide solutions to major global problems and make people’s lives better.
Central to the New Life Sciences Initiative are strategic capital investments that will further advance Cornell's and CALS’s life sciences leadership. The new Life Sciences Technology Building, a $140-million facility to be built on the central campus, will serve as the hub for life sciences. It will provide shared labs and a boundary-less environment promoting interdisciplinary collaborations. This new building, along with Duffield Hall and the other life sciences facilities on campus, will make up the largest life sciences research and educational complex in New York State.
Subscribe to E-lifesciences @ Cornell, a quarterly e-newsletter on Cornell life sciences. Learn about the impact CALS faculty have had on alumni.