Industry Collaborations

Dr. Kausch has been involved with the development of several agricultural biotechnology start-up companies and an educational nonprofit organization that are related to his work. For example, during the past several years Dr. Kausch has developed a new variety of garlic as a new vegetable called ‘Baby Green Garlic’ which has launched a new company called Ophios and has been successful in the marketplace. This variety was selected from wild germplasm and is now being developed as a new vegetable. This project has initiated research into the genetics of the biochemical pathways of thiosulfinates, which are the flavor and medicinal compounds in garlic. He was also involved with a agricultural biotechnology start-up company called HybriGene Inc. that developed genetically modified turfgrasses for trait improvement. One of the major research areas of focus in HybriGene was to develop gene confinement methods for perennial plants and they have successfully completed development of pollen sterility technology and have filed patents on additional technologies. This technology has been extended to other grasses, including switchgrass.

Albert Kausch is a co-founder of a new company, called Plant Advancements which will help commercialize the results of basic research into practicality.  Plant Advancements, LLC, in association with Ernst Conservation Seeds Inc., is a renewable bioenergy company with a focus on the development and primary production of biomass for the growing bioenergy industries and hybrid plant systems for grain crops. Recognizing the need for dedicated energy crop development, Plant Advancements research in collaboration with the Universityof Rhode Islandand YaleUniversity, is developing new technologies as well as new elite and improved varieties of switchgrass and other dedicated energy crops and products used for bioenergy.  The broad mission of the company is use conventional breeding, genomics, advanced breeding, and biotechnology to produce new varieties that will provide sustainable solutions for bioenergy industries. Plant Advancements has designed proprietary gene confinement hybrid systems as operating platforms that will be required for regulatory and environmental stewards for the deployment of genetic modification for enhancing biofuel production and encourages collaborations.

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