At the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Beadle Center, a team of researchers has found a way to grow plants resistant to an herbicide called dicamba, a discovery that could lead to healthier, more plentiful crops.

Another researcher is working on a dietary supplement that could make weight loss easier.

Those, UNL professor Sally Mackenzie says, are the types of Nebraska-bred innovations of which the state should be proud.

But they don’t come about often enough, Mackenzie says, in part because of long-standing gaps — physical, operational and academic — among UNL’s life scientists.

“We are a house divided,” said Mackenzie, a professor in the Center for Plant Science Innovation, the School of Biological Sciences and in agronomy and horticulture.

“Nobody feels beholden to one unified vision. … We have not done that real soul-searching about where we want to be in 10 or 20 years.”

She hopes that will soon change.

A team of experts arrives on campus Wednesday to begin a three-day review of molecular biology units at UNL.

Molecular biology — a division of the life sciences considered to be key to the future of scientific advancement — is a sprawling field that includes biochemistry, plant pathology, animal science, agronomy, horticulture, food science, genomics and veterinary medicine.

The eight-member review team’s charge: Identify strengths and weaknesses within molecular biology and make recommendations to aid UNL in its quest to become a leading agricultural research institution.

The review could be critical in positioning UNL for the future.

Life sciences are among Chancellor Harvey Perlman’s priorities — he singled out the field in his 2008 State of the University address as an area that has made much progress but needs “considerable work” — and he hopes it will play a role at Innovation Campus, UNL’s hallmark research and development project at State Fair Park.

“If we fall short, I think agriculture in Nebraska will suffer,” he said.

“I just want to make sure on the molecular side, we’re moving in the right direction. My instinct is that we have some opportunities to exploit that we’re not currently exploiting.”

For instance, Perlman suspects UNL should add faculty in such areas as cattle genomics, a critical industry in Nebraska, as well as more space for them to teach and study.

“The happiest outcome of this review is to say we’re terrific in all the areas we need to be terrific in. … I’m fearful that’s not the case,” he said.

Shortcomings within life sciences have lingered for some time.

For example, course duplication exists between the College of Arts & Sciences and the Institute of Agricultural and Natural Resources, and some programs differ in rigor, Mackenzie said.

Also, as Perlman noted in his 2008 address, some departments — he won’t say which ones — have not lived up to their potential in drawing research dollars.

Those problems aren’t helped by the fact Arts & Sciences is based on City Campus, while IANR is several miles away on East Campus.

That physical separation — with no single administrator to lead a streamlined operation — has hampered progress, Mackenzie said.

“Being divided as we are is not a healthy way to run our life sciences,” she said. “We need to be much more streamlined, much more cutting-edge.”

An internal team at UNL reached a similar conclusion in a January 2000 report that deemed the university poorly positioned for success in the life sciences.

Scattered across campus, life sciences faculty were missing opportunities to interact, hurting UNL’s ability to recruit and retain top faculty and nab competitive grants, the 2000 report found.

Further, the report said, expectations for advancement in life science were too low, and too many faculty and administrators were “content with the status quo,” causing UNL to fall behind in stature.

The report recommended a new vice chancellor for life sciences to streamline operations and set higher standards for teaching and research.

If changes were not made, the report warned, UNL’s life sciences research enterprise would continue to be “stodgy” and “lacking in aggressiveness.”

But little action was taken on that report.

Part of the blame is on administrative turnover: Neither Perlman nor IANR Vice Chancellor John Owens nor Arts & Sciences Dean David Manderscheid held his current position when the report was issued.

It’s also difficult to implement change, said Brian Larkins, a University of Arizona plant sciences professor who came to UNL in 2007 and crafted another life sciences report.

Larkins said he found many of the issues that plagued UNL life sciences in 2000 remain now.

“There is potential, but they just need to fix some things,” he said.

After turning in his report last year, Larkins began a leave of absence from UNL. He’s back at Arizona waiting to see what UNL does next.

“There’s a point at which you can give advice and beyond that you can’t really be effective,” he said.

Larkins — one of the nation’s best in his field and, like Perlman, a York native — said he wouldn’t rule out a return to Nebraska.

Larkins’ boss, University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Dean Eugene Sander, heads the UNL review team.

Perlman said he hopes the team will produce a report in about 30 days.

After that, he said, the campus will decide what changes it needs to make.

Mackenzie said she hopes the review will help UNL better educate its students, improve efficiency and move innovations from the lab into the community.

“Any Nebraska citizen would want to see more of that,” she said. “For this state, that’s the only way we’re going to grow our economy.”

Reach Melissa Lee at 473-2682 or mlee@journalstar.com.