Richard Jefferson

Richard Jefferson is Chairman, CEO and Chief Scientist at the Center for the Application of Molecular Biology to International Agriculture (CAMBIA) in Australia. He earned his PhD at University of Colorado, Boulder, and in 1985, with an NIH fellowship he moved to the Plant Breeding Institute (PBI) in Cambridge, England, where he adapted the GUS reporter gene system for plants and agriculture. While at PBI, Dr. Jefferson planned and implemented the first field release of a transgenic food crop in 1987. In 1989, he joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as their first senior staff Molecular Biologist. He left the UN in 1991 to found CAMBIA, which has since consulted for the UN, World Bank, and Rockefeller Foundation. From 1999 to 2000, he held a joint, part-time appointment as Director, Strategic and Applied Molecular Technologies for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) of the CGIAR, based in Ibadan, Nigeria.

Richard's areas of interest and expertise include non-destructive reporter systems, field analysis methodology, microbial population dynamics, gene delivery systems, molecular biology of the glucuronide metabolism, molecular apomixis and plant breeding technologies. In the last several years, Richard's expertise in intellectual property matters and agriculture and biotechnology research strategy and policy worldwide have become widely recognized. Work in this field continues with new support from the Rockefeller Foundation to extend this skills base into developing countries and small-to-medium enterprises.

Dr. Jefferson's interest in biotechnology research and application focus in particular on their use in developing societies; he is dedicated to decentralizing decision-making power to include a diverse community of farmers and agricultural researchers, and to empower this group with molecular approaches to achieve robust, environmentally and socially beneficial agricultural systems. He is also President of the Monticello Group Ltd. (Seattle, WA), an Intellectual Property Company.

Dr. Jefferson also pursues several artistic hobbies, including guitar, mandolin, juggling, and modern dance.

Selected Publications:
Jefferson, R.A. (1994), "Apomixis: A social revolution for agriculture?" Biotechnology and Development Monitor, No. 19, p. 14-16. http://www.biotech-monitor.nl/1906.htm

Jefferson, R.A. (1993) Agricultural Biotechnology, By Whom and For Whom. Biotechnology and Development Monitor, 14:24.

Jefferson, R.A. (1993) Beyond Model Systems: New Strategies, Methods, and Mechanisms for Agricultural Research. Biotechnology R & D Trends, Volume 700 of the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, December 21, 1993. pp 53-73

Jefferson, R.A. (1989) The GUS Reporter Gene System. Nature, 342:837-838.

Jefferson, R.A. (1989) New Approaches for Agricultural Molecular Biology: Single Cells to Field Analysis. in "Gene Manipulation in Plant Improvement II - Proceedings of the 19th Stadler Symposium" ed. P. Gustafson. pp 365-400.

"Grassroots Innovator ".
One way forward, Dr Jefferson believes, is to adopt a more catalytic approach to innovation. The Economist Technology Quarterly 8 December 2001.

"Transcending Transgenics".
Are there babies in the bathwater, or is that a dorsal fin? Richard Jefferson, book chapter submitted to IFPRI, September 2001.

Opinion interview: "Seeds of dissent".
Is the party over for genetically modified crops? Some scientists are afraid it might be. But molecular biologist Richard Jefferson thinks the GM revolution is only just warming up. Ehsan Masood, New Scientist, 21 October 2000.

New method of altering plants is aimed at sidestepping critics.
Barnaby J. Feder, New York Times 29 February 2000

Bitter battle over terminator seeds
A simple alternative to crops designed to produce sterile seeds has been proposed by leading scientist, Dr Richard Jefferson.
Geoff Tansey, Financial Times 17 June 1999

Australian center develops tools for developing world.
Richard Jefferson runs an institute in Canberra that helps plant scientists and farmers apply the latest technologies to overcome problems.
Elizabeth Finkel, Science 3 September 1999