Assaf Eybishitz | Crop Science & Breeding | Outstanding Scientist Award

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Dr. Assaf Eybishitz | Crop Science & Breeding | Outstanding Scientist Award

Senior Scientist | World Vegetable Center | Taiwan

Dr. Assaf Eybishitz is a plant scientist specializing in tomato breeding and genetic improvement, with a strong focus on developing resilient, high-performing vegetable crops. His research centers on disease resistance breeding, quantitative trait loci (QTL) identification, and stress tolerance, particularly heat stress and multi-disease resistance using advanced genetic resources and MAGIC populations. Currently, he serves as Senior Scientist – Tomato Breeding at the World Vegetable Center, where he leads and contributes to strategic breeding programs aimed at enhancing yield stability and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Dr. Eybishitz has made significant contributions through molecular screening of wild and cultivated germplasm, identification of key resistance loci, and development of tomato lines with improved resistance to viruses and insect-transmitted diseases. His impact vision emphasizes strengthening global food security, accelerating climate-resilient crop innovation, and translating genetic research into scalable solutions for sustainable agriculture worldwide.


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Featured Publications

 

Alice Olatunji | Crop Science & Breeding | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Alice Olatunji | Crop Science & Breeding | Best Researcher Award

Senior Research Assistant | IITA/University Canada West | Nigeria

Dr. Alice Adenike Olatunji is a distinguished agricultural scientist specializing in yam agronomy and genotype performance evaluation, with a research focus on enhancing crop productivity and resilience under diverse environmental conditions. Her primary research centers on the agronomic performance, genetic improvement, and yield stability of elite White Guinea Yam (Dioscorea rotundata) genotypes cultivated across multiple agroecological zones in Nigeria. As a Senior Research Officer at CGIAR, Montpellier, France, Dr. Olatunji contributes to global agricultural research through the development of sustainable practices and data-driven varietal selection frameworks. Her seminal work, including publications in the Agronomy journal and preprints in the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute, has provided vital insights into genotype-environment interactions influencing yam yield stability. Dr. Olatunji’s research outcomes have informed breeding strategies, agricultural policies, and sustainable food security programs, offering practical pathways for improving smallholder farmer livelihoods and advancing resilient yam production systems in Sub-Saharan Africa. Through collaborative research and innovation, she continues to bridge scientific knowledge with real-world agricultural needs, driving forward the CGIAR mission of transforming food, land, and water systems. Her impact vision emphasizes strengthening food system resilience, enhancing crop adaptation to climate variability, and empowering farmers through science-led agricultural innovation that contributes to global goals for nutrition security and sustainable development.

Profiles: ORCID

Featured Publications

1. Olatunji, A. A., Gana, A. S., Tolorunse, K. D., Agre, P. A., Adebola, P., & Asfaw, A. (2024). Agronomic performance and yield stability of elite White Guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata) genotypes grown in multiple environments in Nigeria. Agronomy, 14(9), 2093. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14092093

2. Olatunji, A. A., Gana, A. S., Tolorunse, K. D., Agre, P. A., Adebola, P., & Asfaw, A. (2024). Agronomic performance and yield stability of elite White Guinea yam (Dioscorea rotundata) genotypes grown in multiple environments in Nigeria. Preprints, 2024080964. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.0964.v1

Clay Sneller | Plant Breeding | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Clay Sneller | Plant Breeding | Best Researcher Award

Professor | The Ohio State University | United States

Dr. Clay Sneller is a distinguished researcher and professor at The Ohio State University, specializing in Plant Breeding and Quantitative Genetics. His research primarily focuses on improving genetic diversity, yield stability, and environmental resilience in major crops such as soybean and wheat. He has significantly contributed to understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying yield potential, drought tolerance, and symbiotic nitrogen fixation, offering innovative strategies for sustainable agricultural productivity. Over his extensive career, Dr. Sneller has held key academic roles driving advanced crop improvement programs and mentoring future agricultural scientists. His collaborative research has produced impactful publications on topics like genomic prediction of wheat landraces, the relationship between genetic variance and parental diversity in soybean, and marker-assisted introgression of yield-related quantitative trait loci (QTLs). His pioneering studies, including “Crop transformation and the challenge to increase yield potential” and “Genomic selection for wheat traits and trait stability,” have guided global plant breeding strategies and influenced both policy and practice in agricultural biotechnology. With an h-index of 42 and over 5,800 citations, Dr. Sneller’s scholarly contributions have shaped the scientific understanding of crop genetics and breeding efficiency. His work bridges the gap between molecular genetics and practical agronomy, advancing the development of resilient, high-yield cultivars adapted to climate variability. Driven by a vision to enhance food security through science-led innovation, Dr. Sneller continues to contribute to the global effort toward sustainable crop production, genetic resource conservation, and next-generation breeding technologies that empower farmers and strengthen agricultural systems worldwide

Profile: Google Scholar

Featured Publications

1. Sinclair, T. R., Purcell, L. C., & Sneller, C. H. (2004). Crop transformation and the challenge to increase yield potential. Trends in Plant Science, 9(2), 70–75.

2. Carter, T. E. Jr., Nelson, R. L., Sneller, C. H., & Cui, Z. (2004). Genetic diversity in soybean. In Soybeans: Improvement, Production, and Uses (Vol. 16, pp. 303–416).

3. Sinclair, T. R., Purcell, L. C., King, C. A., Sneller, C. H., Chen, P., & Vadez, V. (2007). Drought tolerance and yield increase of soybean resulting from improved symbiotic N₂ fixation. Field Crops Research, 101(1), 68–71.

4. Sneller, C. H., Kilgore‐Norquest, L., & Dombek, D. (1997). Repeatability of yield stability statistics in soybean. Crop Science, 37(2), 383–390.

5. Crossa, J., Jarquín, D., Franco, J., Pérez-Rodríguez, P., Burgueño, J., & Sneller, C. H. (2016). Genomic prediction of gene bank wheat landraces. G3: Genes, Genomes, Genetics, 6(7), 1819–1834.*

Dario Gaudioso | Seed Science | Excellence in Innovation Award

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Dr. Dario Gaudioso | Seed Science | Excellence in Innovation Award

PhD researcher | Università degli studi di Firenze | Italy

Dr. Dario Gaudioso is a distinguished researcher specializing in molecular plant pathology, with expertise in plant health, quarantine pathogens, and molecular biology. His research primarily focuses on developing rapid, economical, and high-throughput diagnostic strategies for the detection of quarantine plant pathogens, using Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens as a model organism. He also explores innovative, eco-friendly biotechnological approaches for sustainable crop protection and microbial interactions in leguminous plants. Currently serving as a PhD researcher at the Department of Agricultural, Food, Environmental and Forestry Science and Technology (DAGRI), University of Florence, Dr. Gaudioso also contributes as a Scientific Communicator and OpenLab Operator, bridging science and public understanding. His prior work as a Research Fellow at the same institution strengthened his contributions to applied plant pathology and diagnostic microbiology. Among his significant scientific outputs are publications such as Isolation of a Novel Microplastic-Degrading Bacterial Strain in Chemosphere (2025), Fly High: Volatile Organic Compounds for the Early Detection of Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens in Agronomy (2025), and Exploiting Bacterial Pigmentation for Non-Destructive Detection of Seed-Borne Pathogens in Sensors (2024). He has also contributed to the book Innovative Detection of the Quarantine Plant Pathogen Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens published in Plant Pathology (2022), and to reviews on multidrug transporters in Microorganisms (2024), highlighting his diverse contributions across microbiology and plant science. As an active member of prestigious organizations, including the British Society for Plant Pathology, the Italian Society of Plant Pathology, and the Italian Association for Plant Protection, he continuously engages with the international scientific community. His research outputs integrate molecular diagnostics, sensor technologies, and microbial ecology to advance sustainable agriculture and improve global plant biosecurity frameworks. Through his innovative and interdisciplinary approach, Dr. Gaudioso envisions a future where sustainable diagnostic solutions enable effective management of plant diseases, safeguard agricultural biodiversity, and support resilient food systems. His scientific vision emphasizes strengthening global plant health surveillance, fostering early detection methods that reduce economic losses and environmental impact, and promoting a collaborative framework that bridges science, technology, and sustainability to address emerging agricultural challenges.

Profiles: Google Scholar | Scopus | ORCID | ResearchGate | LinkedIn

Featured Publications

1. Gaudioso, D. (2025). Isolation of a novel microplastic-degrading bacterial strain: A promising agent for low-density polyethylene remediation. Chemosphere. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2025.144400

2. Gaudioso, D. (2025). On the effectiveness of ozone treatments: A silver bullet for plant health? Agronomy, 15(3), 567. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15030567

3. Gaudioso, D. (2025). Fly high: Volatile organic compounds for the early detection of the seed-borne pathogen Curtobacterium flaccumfaciens pv. flaccumfaciens. Agronomy, 15(2), 497. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy15020497

4. Gaudioso, D. (2024). Exploiting bacterial pigmentation for non-destructive detection of seed-borne pathogens by using photoacoustic techniques. Sensors, 24(23), 7616. https://doi.org/10.3390/s24237616

5. Gaudioso, D. (2024). Multidrug and toxic compound extrusion transporters: Ubiquitous multifaceted proteins in microbes, plants, and their interactions. Microorganisms, 12(12), 2433. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12122433