The Elizabeth Creak Horticultural Technology Centre (ECHTC) at the University of Warwick is a £1.5 million state of the art research facility using cutting edge techniques such as gene-editing to improve vegetable crops.
Funded by donations from the Elizabeth Creak Charitable Trust and the estate of Jim Brewster, The Elizabeth Creak Horticultural Technology Centre addresses issues relating to disease resistance, crop yield, adaptability to climate change and nutritional value in horticultural plants. The research will help with the key global challenges of climate change and feeding the world’s growing population.
The Centre, which opened in November 2022, also trains future research scientists in vegetable tissue culture and gene editing techniques, with Jim Brewster Scholarships awarded to PhD students working in the area of crop science.
The centre has been a hub for Clyde Higgs Scholars as well as being a valuable resource for researchers. Elizabeth Creak Chair in Food Security and Director of the Elizabeth Creak Horticultural technology Centre, Professor Murray Grant said “The past year has been one of the most successful to date. We have manged to make major contributions to our understanding of plant disease mechanisms and how pathogens have evolved to hijack plant immunity”.
