Sarah Garland is a Senior Fellow at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment. Her recent work at Columbia University as an Earth Institute Postdoctoral Fellow explored the role of crop biotechnology in developing nutritious and climate-resilient agriculture systems. Sarah received a PhD in Plant Sciences from the University of Cambridge, UK, as a Cambridge International Scholar. Her doctoral research focused on the fast-paced field of CRISPR gene editing in plants. She holds a B.S. in Biology from Duke University. Sarah’s writing has been featured in publications such as Scientific American, Slate, and The New Republic.
Crop biotechnology in a changing climate
Effects of climate change like drought and flood are increasingly threatening global agriculture. Genetic improvement of crops can play an important role in creating more climate resilient agricultural production systems. Historically, the process of genetic improvement has involved traditional crop breeding methods. Modern biotechnology offers different approaches to developing useful crop traits. This talk will explore various applications of crop biotechnology in a changing climate and introduce topics to consider when implementing these advances in the field.