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Agricultural Biotechnology at USDA and Beyond

Jen Rowland, PhD, Biotechnology Coordinator at USDA | LinkedIn

USDA supports the development, use, regulation, and trade of agricultural biotechnologies through multiple agencies and programs.

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Abstract

Biotechnology is an important tool to support continued and sustainable agricultural production in the face of multiple challenges, including climate change. USDA supports agricultural biotechnology innovation through intramural and extramural research, providing clear regulations, and supporting the development of enabling policy environments around the world to support market access for all agricultural products. Many products of agricultural biotechnology have been in safe use for decades (e.g., herbicide-tolerant corn and soy, or insect-resistant cotton), and new technologies like CRISPR and cheaper sequencing are allowing new developers to enter the field, and introduce a wider variety of traits in a greater variety of organisms than ever before.

Related links:

• https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-u-s/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption/
• https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/81176/eib-163_summary.pdf?v=6539.5
• https://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/pdf/2023-stakeholder-meeting.pdf
• https://isaaa.org
• https://gain.fas.usda.gov/

Speaker Bio

Dr. Jen Rowland serves as the Biotechnology Coordinator for USDA, facilitating cross-departmental and interagency engagement, and serving as a point of contact for stakeholders. Until recently, Jen was a science advisor in Foreign Agricultural Service New Technologies and Production Methods division. She worked with the New Tech division to maintain and expand global market access for products of agricultural biotechnology. Jen earned a Ph.D. in microbiology in 2014 from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, studying tuberculosis. She then pursued postdoctoral research on Salmonella pathogenesis at the University of British Columbia. After many years at the lab bench, Jen turned to a career in science policy, first as a Science and Technology Policy Fellow sponsored by AAAS. During her fellowship, Jen worked on the regulatory side of science at the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service in the Pests, Pathogens and Biocontrol Permits Unit. Jen has always had an interest in biotechnology and wishes she had a garden to grow the GE purple tomato that just became available directly to consumers in the U.S.

GES Colloquium is jointly taught by Drs. Jen Baltzegar and Dawn Rodriguez-Ward, who you may contact with any class-specific questions. Colloquium will be held in person in the 1911 Building, room 129, and live-streamed via Zoom.

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