Jennifer Hanks
Research Scientist and Laboratory Leader, DuPont Pioneer
Expert Bio
Jennifer Hanks has a Masters of Natural Science in Biology from Southeast Missouri State and more than 10 years of experience in agriculture biotechnology. She started her career at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, a non-profit research institute, where she studied fungal resistance in legumes. At DuPont Pioneer, she has worked in regulatory science, and currently leads a group that develops the analysis and data required to demonstrate that any new GMOs they submit to regulatory authorities for approval are safe.
She has also had the rewarding opportunity to promote education and careers in STEM by serving as a mentor for the Science Bound Program at Iowa State University (ISU), presenting to the ISU Taking the Road Less Traveled conference and conducting science demonstrations for Chrysalis Foundation programs for grade-school girls. After more than a decade of research on, and community engagement about, plant science and GMOs, she has a deep understanding of the technology and feels passionate about addressing public questions.
Studies, Articles and Answers
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Question
Q: What can you tell me about gene guns or bombardment methods used to genetically modify plants?
A: The gene gun was invented between 1983 and 1986 by researchers at Cornell University and DuPont. Originally, it was used to fire particles, coated with DNA, into plant cells. As pictured in the diagram, the particles are coated and placed on a plastic disc, which is fired out of the gene gun at rapid speed. The disc is stopped by a screen, allowing only the DNA-coated particles to travel through and into cells contained on a plate below. This process is known as transformation, and is one of the ways that researchers perform genetic modification in plants. The technology has [...]
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