John C. Sanford
Courtesy Associate Professor

Department of Horticultural Sciences
Cornell University
New York State Agricultural Experiment Station
Geneva, NY 14456

E-Mail: jcs21@cornell.edu

Minnesota-St. Paul BS 1976 Horticulture
Wisconsin-Madison MS 1978 Plant Breeding/Plant Genetics
Wisconsin-Madison Ph.D. 1980 Plant Breeding/Plant Genetics

My central research objectives have involved:

• Study of the theoretical limits of the mutation/selection process
• Development of genetic transformation technologies
• Development of new approaches to genetically engineer disease and pathogen resistance
• Conventional breeding of strawberries and raspberries

My most significant accomplishments are:

• Co-developer of “Mendel’s Accountant” – today’s most advanced forward-time population genetics simulation program
• Primary inventor of the biolistic (gene gun) process
• Co-inventor of the Pathogen-derived Resistance (PDR) process
• Co-inventor of the Genetic Vaccination process
• Primary inventor of numerous conventionally-bred fruit varieties
• Most of the world's transgenic crop acreage were transformed via my biolistic process

Distinguished Inventor Award (W. Greatbatch, J. Sanford) 1995, Gene therapy for retroviruses. Central New York Patent Law Association.

Distinguished Inventor Award (J. Sanford, E. Wolf, N. Allen) 1990, Central New York Patent Law Association.

Over 80 publications and over 30 patents.

See: http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/sanford/sanford_pubs.html