GCP collaborator promoted to Director of CERAAS, Senegal
Ousmane Ndoye was recently appointed Director of the Centre d'Etude Régional pour l'Amélioration de l'Adaptation à la Sécheresse (CERAAS) in Thiès, Senegal. Ousmane is a Principal Investigator in GCP’s Subprogramme 3 and also a collaborator in the Tropical Legumes I project. He was previously Director of Le Centre National de Recherche Agronomique (CNRA) at l’Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA) in Bambey, Senegal. GCP congratulates Ousmane for this exciting development in his professional career, and wishes him the best in new role.
Borlaug Fellowship Program opportunity
- Published Date
The Norman E Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology Fellows Programme helps developing countries strengthen sustainable agricultural practices by providing short-term scientific training and collaborative research opportunities to visiting researchers, policymakers and university faculty while they work with a mentor. The programme targets developing countries and matches participants with experts in their field at land-grant universities and 1890s colleges, government agencies, international research centers and other non-profit institutions and private companies.
Eligibility: Please consult website
Deadline: Various in October 2009, depending on region of interest (please consult website)
Banana genome sequencing underway in France
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Genoscope (part of the Genomic Institute of the CEA in Evry, France) and Agropolis–CIRAD (Montpellier, France) are starting to perform the complete sequencing of the banana genome. With an annual production of over 100 million tons, the banana is considered a key nutritional commodity. It is consumed at practically all latitudes and longitudes of the planet. However, its production is plagued by diseases and insects which require massive use of pesticides.
The sequencing project, to be financed by the ANR (Genomic Program) and the two research organisations, GENOSCOPE/IG/CEA and Agropolis–CIRAD, is being carried out in the framework of an international public consortium for the genomics of the banana (Global MUSA GENOMICS Consortium, with the notable participation of Bioversity International and the Generation Challenge Programme for the libraries and BACs, as well as of Plant Research International and EMBRAPA for the BAC end sequencing).
It is expected that the sequencing operation will take two years and will lead to the establishment of a catalogue of genes contained in banana, with the results to be deposited in public databases and thus made accessible to all scientists in both academic and private sectors of the agribusiness.
Vavilov-Frankel Fellowship: 2010 Call for applications
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Two Fellowship opportunities will be available for 2010 to carry out research on conservation and use of Plant Genetic Resources. The Fellowships are supported by Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., United States, and the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Australia.
Applications are invited from nationals of developing countries, aged 35 or under, holding a Masters degree (or equivalent) and/or Doctorate in a relevant subject area. The list of eligible countries is available on the World Bank website: ('Income group': 'low-income' and 'lower-middle income' only).
Deadline for applications: 8 November 2009
GCP welcomes Larry Butler, Product Delivery Leader
- Published Date
Following a long and thorough recruitment process, GCP is delighted to announce the appointment of Larry Butler as GCP’s Product Delivery Leader. Larry, who took up the position on 7th September 2009, will coordinate, supervise and advise the seven GCP Product Delivery Coordinators (PDCs), who currently head GCP’s Challenge Initiatives (CIs). Together with the PDCs, Larry will oversee product delivery within each CI, assisting the GCP Management Team in operationalising and seamlessly integrating GCP’s complementary crop–farming system approach.
Larry, with an educational background in plant pathology, brings a wealth of professional experience to the new role, including 36 years of practical field experience as a plant pathologist and agronomist working with temperate, as well as tropical, field and horticultural crops. In past assignments Larry has carried out a 12-year tenure as a pathologist at the Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT), including six years as the Head of the CIMMYT Seed Health Unit, as well as building up six years of experience as a small cereals breeder, 18 years of project, laboratory and office management experience, and 14 years of product development experience on agricultural and horticultural crops in the U.S. Prior to embarking on this new challenge with GCP, Larry was working in the private sector. Please join us in welcoming Larry to the GCP team!
To see how the Product Delivery Leader role fits in with the rest of the decision-making bodies and roles within GCP's current operational structure, please visit our Project Development Guide.
