Editors-in-Chief
Dr Sarah de Vos - New Heritage Barley Ltd., UK
Sarah founded New Heritage Barley in 2015 after being involved in several BBSRC funded projects investigating the agronomic and economic potential of old barley varieties. Prior to that, she worked as a Post-doc and PhD student on various aspects of plant molecular biology and biochemistry at the John Innes Centre and University of East Anglia.
Dr Chris Ridout - John Innes Centre, UK
Chris Ridout is a visiting scientist at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK. Chris's research has been on disease resistance in crops, particularly barley and brassicas. He has made extensive use of genetic resources in his research, using approaches such as association genetics and the molecular analysis of plant immunity. Chris worked on biological control of plant diseases during his PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Hull.
Associate Editors
Mehtap Alkan - Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey
Mehtap is a researcher focussing on the genetic diversity of plants and the importance of plant diversity in host-pathogen interactions, how variations in plant genetics can influence their resistance to various pathogens, and understanding the role of plant diversity in these interactions. She also works extensively on plant diseases, the genetic mechanism underlying plant-pathogen interactions, and enhancing the genetic resilience of crops to environmental stresses.
Katherine Baum - Australian Grains Genebank, Australia
Katherine is a seed physiologist with experience of long-term seed storage for crop genetic resources conservation where the effective utilisation of the germplasm is the principle goal. Previously employed by the International Rice Research Institute, Philippines, she is one of the few international experts in applied seed longevity research and moved to Australia in 2018 to work as a research scientist at the Australian Grains Genebank (AGG). Her areas of expertise include seed quality, longevity, and genebank management.
James Cockram - NIAB, UK
Dr James Cockram is a Group Leader in Cereal Trait Genetics at NIAB, Cambridge, UK. His background is in the molecular genetics, domestication and pre-breeding of temperate cereal crops, with a current focus on bread wheat and related species.
Paola Gaiero - FAgro, Uruguay
Paola Gaiero currently works at the Laboratory of Evolution and Domestication of Plants in the Faculty of Agronomy, University of the Republic in Uruguay, where she still works on comparative genomics in different plant genetic resources, as well as on assessing the diversity of their populations in their natural distribution areas using molecular markers.
Catherine Jacott - University of Seville, Spain
Catherine Jacott specializes in plant-microbe interactions, focusing on legumes and beneficial symbionts like arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria. She is currently studying a genetically diverse soybean population encompassing elite, landrace, and wild cultivars to uncover the genetic basis of interactions with nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Her research also delves into shared plant processes exploited by symbionts and pathogens.
Clare Lewis - John Innes Centre, UK
Clare Lewis is a post-doc researcher at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK. Her research on the Puccinia rusts of wheat began during her PhD studies and has continued since joining the group of Prof Diane Saunders.
Era Vaidya Malhotra - ICAR-NBPGR, India
Working as a Scientist as the ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, India, Era’s work is focussed on developing strategies for conservation of genetic resources of vegetatively propagated crops, focusing specifically on spices and industrial crops.
Patrick McKenna - NIAB, UK
Patrick McKenna received his PhD in red clover agronomy and genetics in 2017 from Royal Agricultural University. He has completed postdocs at University of Leeds and NIAB, looking at species and variety selection in forage production and the effects this has on soil health. He is now based at Cranfield University where he studies the impact of wastewater irrigation on soil health.
Mvuyeni Nyasulu - Jiangxi Agricultural University, China
Mvuyeni's research focuses on plant genetic resources, particularly in the realms of plant genetics and breeding. He integrates gene and QTL mapping, along with genome editing techniques, to enhance crop resilience and sustainability. Notably, Mvuyeni has conducted significant studies on the agromorphological characterization of amaranth species and the stability of amaranth accessions for varietal development in Malawi. His work contributes to the conservation and utilization of plant genetic resources.
Desalegn D. Serba - U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center, USA
Desalegn D. Serba is a Plant Research Geneticist, USDA-ARS, working on turfgrasses improvement at U.S. Arid-Land Agricultural Research Center, Maricopa, Arizona. Dr. Serba had previously worked as a Research Assistant Professor on pearl millet breeding at Kansas State University, and as a wheat breeder in Ethiopia for more than 10 years.
Burcu Tarikahya-Hacioglu - Hacettepe University, Turkey
Burcu is a plant biologist experienced in plant systematics, molecular phylogeny, ethnobotany and genetic characterization of crop wild relatives.
Editorial Board
M.T. Abberton - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria
A. Beharav - Universisty of Haifa, Israel
D. Bertioli - University of Brasilia, Brazil
H. Bockelman - National Small Grains Collection, USA
A. Börner - Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research, Germany
C. Fatokun - International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria
B. Ford-Lloyd - University of Birmingham, UK
L. Guarino - Global Crop Diversity Trust, Germany
D. Jarvis - Bioversity International, Italy
U. Lavania - Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants, India
L.M.J. Smith - NIAB, UK
R.J. Smith - Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK
R. Tuberosa - University of Bologna, Italy
R. Varshney - International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, India