Through a diverse career path, Dr. Molly Niedbalski Cline has spent the past 20 years helping new technology evolve from scientific theory into new products and bringing those products to the people who use them. For the past seven years in her role as director of food industry relations, Cline has focused on building agricultural biotechnology acceptance in the food and feed marketing chain domestically and internationally. A large part of that responsibility has involved assisting numerous trade groups and associations build capacities for biotechnology outreach programs.

When she joined Monsanto in 1987, Cline served as a turf specialist in the field product development group. That role led to several management positions for the consumer products division, through which she helped bring several new lawn and garden products to market. Cline's responsibilities also included managing all technology and environmental issues, along with the consumer hotline, for Monsanto's Roundup® and Greensweep® consumer products.

Cline began her professional career as an extension associate in the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Illinois and was a graduate fellow. There, Cline taught pesticide applicator training, with additional responsibilities in the diagnosis of corn, soybean, ornamental, and turf diseases. She spent the next four years at Mallinckrodt Inc. as a senior research horticulturist, where she developed fungicide and insecticide products for use in nursery and greenhouse crops. Cline contributed numerous articles for popular and refereed publications on this subject. She was a spokesperson on pesticide safety and chairwoman of the packaging task force for the Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment (RISE).

Cline earned her master's and doctorate degrees in plant pathology from the University of Illinois where she was a graduate fellow. She graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree in biology and Spanish from Kalamazoo College. Her professional honors include the following: Domestic Marketing Award from the United Soybean Board (1995); the Monsanto YMCA Leadership Award (1989); program co-leader for the Monsanto Leadership Training Program (1993); Monsanto YWCA Leadership Award (1991); and Whetzel-Westcott-Dimock Distinguished Lecturer in Plant Pathology (1998).

Currently, Cline lends her talents to several scientific and trade organizations. She serves on the executive committee of the American Soybean Industry Council (ASIC); on the Board of Directors and the Biotechnology Committee of the International Food Information Council (IFIC); as a member of the Food and Feed Safety Committee of the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA); is on the Board of Directors of the American Feed Industry Association (AFIA); and is a member of the Biotechnology Committee of the National Food Processors Association (NFPA). She is a frequent invented speaker at domestic and international grain and food trade group conferences and meetings.

In addition, Cline has played a particularly active role for the past twenty years in the American Phytopathological Society (APS), holding the offices of councilor-at-large, chairwoman of the councilor's forum , and secretary during her tenure. Although not elected, she had the honor of being nominated and running for the office of president. She also has served as the chairwoman for many of the organization's committees including Public Relations, Diseases of Ornamentals and Turfgrasses, the Committee on Committees, Public Responsibilities, and the Sustaining Associates. She currently is a Board member of the Office of Public Affairs and Education (OPAE), the APS Foundation, and the Industry Advisory Council.

Philosophical Approach

While her career has taken Cline down many paths, her mission over the years has remained clear: to share, promote, and communicate the value that agriculture brings to all potential users.

"I am very proud to have my professional roots and training in plant pathology," says Cline. "My career has demonstrated that work in this interdisciplinary science touches every life and every household. It's a very gratifying feeling to play an instrumental role in developing new, technology-based products that enhance the lives of consumers."

The focus of Cline's efforts in the past and in the future will certainly be the ever-growing world population and protection of the environment.. She ardently supports contributions to "Healthy Plants, Healthy World," an organization (APS) committed to helping meet the increased global food demands of the next century.