Dr. Molly Cline is a scientist to the core. With her master’s and doctoral degrees in plant pathology from the University of Illinois, she has worked in the agricultural industry for the majority of her career. For 28 of her 35 working years, she was at Monsanto, where she supported the introduction of Roundup herbicide in the consumer market and led the agricultural industry outreach for the first products of biotechnology in canola, soybean and sugar beets. Molly first started in a product development role and later was in industry, public and government affairs.
Plants run in Molly’s family: her father was an agricultural scientist, and her grandfather was a commercial concord grape grower. As a child, she loved plants, frequently unpotting her mother’s plants as a toddler. Her pursuit of this area of science was no surprise to anyone, including her mother, who exclaimed, “of course, she did her thesis on root rot!”
Dr. Cline is passionate about many areas within her field of agriculture. She discovered that one of her core passions was in explaining science and making it understandable for other people. While she continued to research, publish papers, and make discoveries throughout her career (including discovering a new fungus!) she became more engaged in advocacy, communication, stakeholder dialogue, and sustainability around the food systems that are in place in our society. Molly strongly believes that everyone has the right to know what’s on their plate—where food comes from, the technologies used to produce it, and the environmental impact that it has while it grows. Agricultural biotechnology was initially controversial, but Molly was excited to be at the forefront of the agricultural industry as it evolved. A better understanding of weeds, insect pests, disease, plant breeding and genetics, as well as the best practices for the industry, evolved. As a result, huge impacts were made by Monsanto’s innovations for farmers and our food systems. Ag Biotech, previously nonexistent before 1990s, is now widely accepted around the world. Molly found herself engaged at the heart of the science that changed commercial agriculture.
Since retiring, Molly continues to advocate for agriculture through the St. Louis Agribusiness Club where she is a past president, and through the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center where she is a docent. She is also active with the YWCA Metro St. Louis, Focus St. Louis, Secretary of SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation Board of Governors, and is Vice-Chair of the Eliot Membership of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy at Washington University. Dr. Cline has been recognized for her professional achievements and civic contributions by several organizations. Talk about a woman making an impact on the world around her!
Molly met her husband of 42 years, also a plant scientist, in graduate school. They have two adult children, a daughter in St. Louis, and a son in Miami. They are soon to become grandparents. They also enjoy a second home in Leland, Michigan, which happens to be the center of the apple, cherry and wine production of Michigan. They even have their own mini orchard of apples, blueberries and raspberries on their property. How’s that for serendipity?!
Molly’s recommendation: No matter the season, enjoy the outdoors at either the Missouri Botanical Garden or the reconstructed Missouri prairie at the Danforth Plant Science Center.