Dr. Shane C. Burgess first in his family to complete college, he graduated with distinction as a veterinarian in 1989 from Massey University, New Zealand. He has worked in and managed veterinary clinical practices in Australia and the UK, including horses, farm animals, pets, wild and zoo animals, and emergency medicine and surgery. He did a radiology residency at Murdoch University in Perth in Western Australia, where he concurrently co-founded Perth’s first emergency veterinary clinic. He has managed aquaculture facilities in Scotland. Between 1995 and 1998, while working full time outside of the academy, he did his Ph.D. in virology, immunology and cancer biology (Bristol University Medical School, UK). Dr. Burgess worked in the UK World Reference Laboratory for Exotic Diseases during the 2001 Foot and Mouth Disease crisis, where he led the diagnosis reporting office. He was awarded a Director’s Award for Service. In 2002, Dr. Burgess joined Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine as an assistant professor. He was recruited from Mississippi State as a professor, associate dean of the college and director of the Institute for Genomics, Biocomputing and Biotechnology to lead the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in July 2011. Dr. Burgess is currently Vice President for Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Interim Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine, and Director, Arizona Experiment Station at the University of Arizona. The college has a total budget of more than $120M with over 3,400 students and more than 1,800 employees. Dr. Burgess has been a Board Member of the Mississippi Biotechnology Association, served as a Mississippi Universities’ Industrial Outreach Committee member, and was President of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences, 2009-2010. He has served USDA NRSP8: National Animal Genome Research Program as a Bioinformatics Committee Member, was one of the two US (and the non-federal) Inaugural Co-chairs for the Working Group on Animal Biotechnology within the US-EC Task Force on Biotechnology, a National Executive Committee member for the Food Systems Leadership Institute, a University and Industry Consortium (UIC) Executive Committee Member and was on the UIC Project Steering Team for its assessment project to define graduate numbers/quality/skills supply vs. demand in agricultural and biotech industries (a collaboration with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities). He currently serves on the Agri-Business and Water Council of Arizona Executive Committee, the Board of Directors for Arizona Farm Bureau, the Governor’s Agricultural Best Management Practices Committee for the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, the BIO5 Institute Deans’ Advisory Board, Tech Launch Arizona’s Internal Advisory Board, Arizona STEM Diploma Project Advisory committee, Flinn Foundation’s Arizona Bioscience Roadmap Steering Committee, the Arizona National Livestock Show Board of Directors, and Reid Park Zoological Society Board of Directors. Dr. Burgess also serves on a number of university-level planning and strategy committees.

veterinary science, cancer, virology, proteomics, immunology and bioinformatics research

Mike Wilkinson is Professor of Upland Agriecosystems at the Pwllpeiran Uplands Research Centre of IBERS, Aberystwyth University. His research spans the interface between agriculture and the natural environment, with contributions in crop genetics and improvement, conservation of crop relatives, applied epigenetics, and environmental risk assessment of Genetically Modified Crops. His research profile includes over 100 refereed publications across >50 journals. He has an H-factor of 42, an i10-index of 86 (Google Scholar) and total citations of almost 8,000. He re-joined Aberystwyth February 2016 after a four year spell in the University of Adelaide where he held the the prestigious Mortlock chair in Plant Epigenetics, was Head of the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, Director of the Plant Accelerator and Director of the Waite Research Institute. Prior to this, we worked for eleven years in the University of Reading (UK), five years at the (now) James Hutton Institute (UK) and Leicester University (UK).

Agroecosystem, Agriculture Science, Agriculture Engineering and Agriculture Biotechnology

Lack of clean water to meet society’s needs is recognized as one of the major challenges of modern times by the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Chaubey’s research is focused on improving water quality and watershed management by integrating field data collection and mathematical modeling, and developing simulation models and tools that will guide policy decision makers, watershed managers, conservation specialists and farmers. Dr. Chaubey is unique in his integration of simulation modeling and innovative field research to improve our understanding of various rainfall-runoff and pollutant transport processes at field, stream reach and watershed scales. Dr. Chaubey is leading efforts nationally and internationally in quantifying how land use changes due to recent demand for biofuel production, agricultural intensification, and urbanization will impact water availability, water quality, and ecosystem services. His research improves watershed management decisions so that resource allocations and resulting water quality improvements can be optimized. Dr. Chaubey has published more than 400 research articles, including 105 peer reviewed journal articles and more than 180 technical papers in various conferences, and has given 50 invited presentations at various regional, national, and international conferences. He has won numerous honors and awards including New Holland Young Researcher Award, ADS/Hancor Soil and Water Conservation Award, Purdue Agricultural Research Award, Purdue University Faculty Scholar, Seed for Success Award, and Outstanding Research Award.

Ecohydrology, Source Pollution Engineering, Future of Water Resources, Design in Biological Engineering, Natural Resources Engineering, Nonpoint Source Pollution Engineering, Modeling and Simulation, NPS Pollution Control and Modeling,

Balabanov Viktor, Doctor of technical sciences, professor, Dean of the faculty "Processes and machinery in agribusiness" Russian State Agrarian University - Moscow Agricultural Academy named after K.A Timiryazev (RSAU – MAA named after K.A. Timiryazev), Head of Sub Committee (SC 8) "Radio navigation and control system in agriculture" of the Technical Committee for Standardization (TC 363) "Radio navigation" Federal Agency for Technical Regulation and Metrology (Rosstandart). Author of over 300 scientific and educational works, including 25 monographs, scientific journals and popular science books, 25 descriptions of inventions. and 11 on scientific research reports. Accredited experts of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Innovation Center "Skolkovo".

Agriculture Science, Agribusiness, Agriculture Biotechnology, Agriculture Engineering

Dr Abbas Amini is an assistant professor at the Australian College of ACK and Western Sydney University, and the member of graduate supervisory board. After obtaining PhD, he conducted research with other Australian universities, as a postdoctoral research fellow at Monash and Deakin Universities, and as a senior research fellow at the University of Melbourne. His fine outcomes have been presented in high impact factor journals, e.g., Nature publication group, and a recent published book in 2016. Abbas is the editor of ten reputed journals, and the committee member of 20 international conferences.

Bionanotech

Shinsuke Agehara is currently working as Assistant Professor in Plant Physiology at the University of Florida, Gulf Coast Research and Education Center. He received the B.S. degree in International Agricultural Development at Tokyo University of Agriculture in Japan in 2001, M.S. degree in Crop and Soil Sciences at Michigan State University in 2004, and Ph.D. in Horticulture at Texas A&M University in 2014. His current research program focuses on understanding plant physiological and morphological adaptation mechanisms to environmental stresses, and developing integrated sustainable management strategies for vegetable and small fruit crops.

Agriculture science, Plant science, Plant phycology

He graduated from the University of Tokyo, Department of Biochemistry, School of Science in 1974. He joined the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan, in 1981 and worked in the research staff for 27 years. He took his doctor’s degree at The Tohoku University in 1989. He continued his research into rice quality and processing, and was promoted to the head of the quality laboratory in 1990. He managed food research as a director of Food Science and Utilization Division at the National Food Research Institute from 2005 until 2008. He retired from MAFF and moved to Niigata University in 2008. He now majors in cereal science and processing, specializing in, quality assay and processing of rice grains. He is currently doing research into rice processing, for example, bio-functional rice bread, rice noodles, and rice cake. He has published more than 260 papers on cereal science and utilization, and he got the prizes for outstanding papers on rice qualities, PCR technology of rice authentications, and the development of bio-functional rice bread, etc.

Cereal science and processing, quality assay and processing of rice grains, bio-functional rice bread, rice noodles, and rice cake, PCR technology of rice authentications.

Dr. Siphiwe Felix M. Mkhize was employed by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) , as the Head of Provincial and State Owned Entities Performance Monitoring . Previously h e was posted abroad as M inister Counselor (Agriculture), at the Embassy of South Africa in the United States of America. He represent ed the South African Agricultural interest in the Americas with accreditation to South African Missions in Canada, Cuba and Mexic o from September 2001 to July 2010 . Pr ior Dr. Mkhize is an experienced agricultural and development practitioner who has both South African and international experience. He has worked on all levels of agriculture (policy, planning , monitoring and impleme ntation). He has represented South African agricultural sector on various for ums abroad and locally. Dr. Mkhize has training in various fields of agriculture (agronomy and soils) , sustainable development and international diplomacy . He holds a Diploma i n Irrigation Sciences from Mediterranean Agronomic Institute (MAI), in Bari , Italy, a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Agronomy (Agriculture) from Iowa State University , USA, a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Soil Chemistry and Fertility from Universit y of Reading, in England, second Masters ( MPhil ) degree in Philosophy (Applied Ethics) in Environment from the University of Stellenbosch and a PhD in sustainable ecological management from the University of Pretoria , where he wr o t e his dissertation under Prof AS van Jaarsveld the current Vice Chancellor of University of KwaZulu Natal. He is registered as a Professional Natural Scientist ( Pr Nat Sc) with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions a nd al s o with the American Registry of Cer tified Professionals in Crops and Soils (ARCPCS) as a Professional Agronomist (CPAg). He is a member of the South African Soil Science Society and the American Society of Agronomy. He has written a number of papers in the field of agriculture, developmen t, ethics and agricultural biotechnology, and he is the author of two book s titled: Towards Hope and Challenge Agricultural Biotechnology and the Catholic Social Teachings: A Catholic Ethic for Agriculture, Environment, Faith and Food (2004 ) and .. . AND THE EYES OF ALL LOOKED AT HIM Understanding the Mystery of the Ministry of Permanent Diaconate (2014).

Agriculture Science, Plant science,Fisheries and Forestry

Dr. Narendra Kumar Gontia, born on July 24, 1961 did B.Tech. (Agril.Engg.) in 1983. He did his M.Tech. (SWCE) and Ph.D. Agril. Engg. from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur in 1991 and 2006 respectively. He is bestowed with prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru Award for Out-standing Post-Graduate Agricultural Research 2007 by ICAR, New Delhi for his Ph. D. contribution in Soil and Water Conservation Engg. Presently working as Principal and Dean, Agril Engg. and Technology, Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh. He has 33 years of experience in field and academics in Agril. Engg. He has served in faculty of College of Agril Engg. and Technology, Junagadh since 30 years and hold various positions viz. Professor and Head, Dept. of SWE and Research Engineer, AICRP on Groundwater Utilization. He is the recipient of S.J. Hiran Memorial award Year 2001-02 and Distinguished Services Certificate award 1998-99 from ISAE, New Delhi for his contribution in Agricultural Engineering profession. He has good number of publications in national and international journals. He has supervised One Ph. D. and Eleven PG (M.Tech.) Theses in SWE and Seventeen UG projects. He is member of Academic Council, Research council, Extension Education council and Library council of JAU, Junagadh. He is Life Member of Nine professional societies.

Agriculture Science, Horticulture Science

Dr. Mohd Rasdi Zaini currently working at Universiti Teknologi MARA (Melaka) (UiTM) as a senior lecturer (Associate Professor), Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology. His area of specialization is Agriculture Entomology focusing on Population Ecology of Agriculture Insect-Pest, Biodiversity of Insect and Multitrophic System especially sucking pest on vegetables such as whiteflies, aphids, and thrips. Additionally, he is also doing research on major pests in oil palm plantation particularly rhinoceros beetle and bagworms. Currently, he is focused on the trophic dynamics in an agro-ecology of brinjal (Solanum melongena L.) plants planted under the rain shelter. The effects of nutrients applications on the crop and early infestations by potentially serious pests; whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) and aphids (Myzus persicae Sulzer) on several arthropod species (mainly pests) whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), aphids (Myzus persicae S.), thrips (Thrips sp.), red spider mites (Tetranychus sp.) and predatory mite (Phytoseiulus sp.) infesting the plant were also tested and investigated. He has also published more than 30 publications such as journals, books, proceeding and etc. Various experience in administration works and hold several positions in UiTM, Ex-Deputy Dean (Student Affairs) 2014-2016 in the Faculty of Plantation and Agrotechnology, UiTM Melaka Jasin Campus and currently being one of the Panel of Academic Advisory Board (PAAB) and Fellow of International Institute of Plantation Management (FiiPM). He was appointed as Academic Advisor of College FELCRA Bhd since 2016 until present. I was also appointed as Guest lecturer for MAP (Malaysia Association Productivity) and International Institute Plantation Management to deliver subject of Crop Protection; Pest and Disease since 2006 until present.

Agriculture Science, Plant Science, Crop protection, Agriculture Entomology, Plantation Management

Dr. N.V.Naidu born in 1957 in a hamlet of Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh was Graduated from S.V. Agricultural College, Tirupati, A.P and obtained B.Sc (Ag) degree in 1979 and Master & Doctoral degree majoring in Genetics & Plant Breeding in 1981 & 1990 respectively from College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, APAU (Presently renamed as Acharya N.G Ranga Agricultural University). He joined in service in the A.P Agricultural University in 1983 as Research Assistant and worked in various cadres viz Assistant Research Officer in Pulses & Groundnut, Breeder in Sugarcane, Principal Scientist (Sugarcane), Associate Director of Research, Associate Dean, Director (Seeds), Professor & University Head, Department of Genetics & Plant Breeding and Director of Extension at various research Institutions & Colleges of ANGRAU. He has developed 23 improved varieties in Groundnut, Pulses, Sugarcane besides implementable technologies and recommended for commercial application. He was actively involved in the transfer of technologies to the benefit of farming community. He has published more than 100 research papers in national & international journals; number of popular articles & presented research papers in various Seminars, Symposia, Workshops and Conferences. His research contributions were recognised by the competent authorities and presented awards/prizes/appreciations by the university, Government of Andhra Pradesh and NGOs. Some of them include Best Research Worker by ANGRAU, Best Sugarcane Scientist by Sugarcane Growers Association, M/S KCP Sugar & Indcor, Ugadi Puraskharam by Government of Andhra Pradesh, Rythu Nestham by NGO, Gold and Silver medals for best research papers by SISSTA & STAI and Best team work award for Quality Seed Production by AICRP on NSP (Crops). He is a family member of IMRF and is participating in the conferences organised by IMRF since 2014. Presently working as Director of Research is guiding & coordinating research and development activities in ANGRAU.

Agriculture Science, Horticulture Science, Agricultural Biotechnology

Dr Harvinder Singh Dhaliwal, born on May 1, 1962 at village Mandhali (Mansa) was appointed as Dean, College of Agriculture, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana on March 1, 2013 and prior to this he had served as Additional Director of Research (Horticulture) from March 6, 2012 to February 28, 2013. He has acted as Director of Extension Education, PAU from February 1, 2014 to October 27, 2014. He is the recipient of Punjab Sarkar Parman Patar for the year 2013 and has been conferred with Smt. Harpal Kaur Memorial Award for the year 2011 in recognition of his outstanding research, teaching and extension work in the field of Horticulture. He did B.Sc. Agriculture (Hons.) in 1984; M.Sc. (Pomology) in 1986 and Ph.D. (Pomology) in 1991from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. He has been awarded Sardar Bahadur Lal Singh Gold Medal for securing first position in M.Sc. (Pomology).

Agriculture Science, Plant Science, Horticulture Science

Prof Fhatuwani Nixwell Mudau completed a B.Sc Agric (Crop Science) at the University of Venda in 1996. He then registered M.Sc. in Horticulture at the University of Stellenbosch where he conducted research on citrus nutrition. He completed a PhD (Horticultural Sciences) at the University of Pretoria and he has done extensive research in herbal medicine. He has completed Masters in Business Leadership (MBL) at UNISA Graduate School of Business Leadership. His previous working experience includes Vista University VUDEC, Campus (Now Incorporated to University of South Africa), University of Venda and University of Limpopo as a Lecturer. In 2006, he was seconded to establish a fully funded Research Centre as an Associate Professor and Centre Manager known as Limpopo Agro Food Technology Station (LATS) by Tshumisano Trust (Now Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). He then joined the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) under Food and Beverages (Now Agro-Industries) Strategic Business Unit (SBU); HealthCare and Education (SBU) as a Specialist

Prof Fhatuwani Nixwell Mudau interests inclide project development and implementation in Agro Industries, Education and Healthcare sectors

R. R. Sharma after post-graduation from IARI, New Delhi, joined as Scientist there in 1997. He is Senior Scientist and associated with release of mango hybrids like Pusa Arunima, Pusa Surya, Pusa Lalima, Pusa Shresth, Pusa Pitamber etc. He has published 40 research articles in International journals, 60 in National journals, and authored 8 books. He is recipient of Dr. R.N. Singh award (twice), Dr Rajinder Prasad award (twice), and Himachal Shri Award. He has also served as International Mango Registrar for about 5 years (1999-2004). He is member, editorial board of Scientia Horticulturae, International Journal of Fruit Science (U.K.), American Journal of Plant Sciences (US), Journal of Food Processing and Technology (US), and Stewart Postharvest Reviews (UK), and Chief Editor of International Journal of Processing and Postharvest Technology, India.

Pre and Post harvest handling of temperate fruits, Food Science

Born in Haifa in 1939, Prof. Ilan Chet completed his doctoral work in microbiology at the Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He was Dean and Vice President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Prof. Chet received the Max-Planck Award (1994), the Israel Prize (1996), the Wolf Prize (1998), the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of Germany (2001) and the French “Chevalier” Legion of Honor award (2014). From 2001 to 2006, Prof. Chet was nominated President of the Weizmann Institute of Science. He has been a member of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities since 1998 and of the European Academy of Sciences since 2004. In 2014, he was elected a member of the Academia Europea. Prof. Chet is the Deputy Secretary General for Higher Education and Research in the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean since 2010.

Biological control of plant diseases, Induced resistance, Molecular biology of fungi, Sustainable agriculture, Food security

Upendra M Sainju is currently working on the effects of tillage, crop rotation, crop diversity, cropping intensity, and cultural practices on soil aggregation, organic matter concentration, microbial activities, nitrogen mineralization, and carbon and nitrogen sequestration in dryland areas. He is also engaged in studying the effects of irrigation management, nitrogen fertilization rates, and cultural practices in nitrate-nitrogen movement in soil that affects water quality, soil organic matter level, and nitrogen mineralization in irrigated land. He is also involved in the development of methodology for determination of soil aggregation for dryland and irrigated areas and extraction method for determining ammonium and nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in the soils of various textures amended with or without plant residue.

Upendra M Sainju eight years working on the long-term effects of tillage, cover crops, and nitrogen fertilization on crop production, carbon sequestration in plant and soil, soil nitrogen fertility, microbial activities, and nitrogen leaching at Fort Valley State University, he developed a management practice consisting of conservation tillage, cover cropping, and nitrogen rate that sustains crop production, improves soil and water qualities, and reduces the rate of nitrogen fertilization as compared with the conventional practice.

Dr Johan van Rooyen is currently the director of “The Standard Bank Centre for Agri-leadership & Mentorship Development” and professor in Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University. He teaches Agri-business strategy, Agricultural and rural development and Business cases at the University of Stellenbosch and also lectures at the Universities of Free State, Pretoria, Antwerpen and the University of Ghent, Belgium. To-date he published more than 100 peer group refereed scientific papers, five academic books on Agri-business & Agri- development and presented over 100 papers at local and international events. He is a NRF rated scientist. Prof van Rooyen serves on a number of boards of agri-business companies and agencies, is currently a board member of IAMA (the International Agri-business and Food Industry Management Association) and serves on an expert panel of the “World Competitive Report”, University of Laussanne, Switzerland. He served on a number of committees, including the ‘Agricultural Sector Plan’ task team (2000-2001); served as ministerial appointment on the ‘Agri-BEE steering committee (2005-2008); managed the drafting of the ‘S.A. Wine Industry Transformation Charter and BEE Score Card’ (2003-2007); and served full terms on the boards of the S.A. Land and Agricultural Development Bank (2000-2004) and on the S.A. Agricultural Research Council (1996-2000). Previous employment includes: The Development Bank of Southern Africa (1984-1993) - Executive Group Manager, Agriculture and Rural Development; and Director of the Centre for Policy Analysis; Director of the Postgraduate School for Agricultural and Rural Development & Professor in the ABSA Chair of Agribusiness Management, University of Pretoria (1993-2002); CEO, Agri-business Chamber of S.A (1998-2002); CEO of the S.A. Wine Industry Council (2003-2008). His achievements include: Served On A Number Of Boards Of Agri-Business Companies And Agencies ( New Farmers Development Co, Aquaharvest, Sa Brandy Foundation, Winetech, Sawis, Wosa), President Of The Agricultural Economics Association Of South Africa, Chair Of The Agricultural Outlook Conference(Lanvokon) and Elected An Ifama Fellow In 2014, Co-Chair Ifama 2014 World Conference In Cape Town and Operate As Specialist Consultant In Agribusiness – Strategic Planning And Policy Development.

Agri-business, Agricultural and rural development, Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Economy

Professor Byoung Ryong Jeong has completed his PhD at the age of 31 years from Colorado State University, USA, and postdoctoral studies from University of Missouri-Columbia, USA, and Chiba University, Japan. He is a professor in Department of Horticulture and the Dean of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gyeongsang National University, Republic of Korea. He has published more than 250 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editor-in-chief of Horticulture, Environment and Biotechnology, and president of the Korean Society for Floricultural Science. (Up to 100 words)

Climate Change, Conservation Biology, Genetics, Climatology, Ornamental Horticulture, Plant Tissue culture and micropropagation

Dr. Ashok K Patra, Director, ICAR-Indian Institute of Soil Science, Bhopal, India. He did his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Soil Science & Agricultural Chemistry at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. He was a Post Doctoral Researchers at ICRISAT, India; IGER, UK; INRA, France; and University of Notre Dame, USA. He was a Principal Soil Scientist (2006 to 2014) at IARI, New Delhi. He is a recipient of British Council TCT Award; Royal Society Award; DBT Overseas Associateship Award; Hooker Award of IARI; and he is a Fellow of the Indian Society of Soil Science and National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India. His research area includes nitrogen cycling, soil biodiversity, carbon sequestration and nanoparticles. With more than 200 publications in his credit he is serving as a member of editorial board of reputed journals.

Nitrogen cycling, soil biodiversity, carbon sequestration and nanoparticle

Francis Lewu obtained BSc Agriculture in Plant Breeding and Seed Technology and MSc Agronomy in Nigeria. He started his career as a Genebank Research Assistant in International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, IITA, Nigeria and later proceeded to study PhD Botany with specialization in plant genetic conservation and propagation. After his postdoctoral study, he joined the Department of Agriculture, University of Zululand, South Africa as a Lecturer in 2008 and was appointed HOD, of the department in January 2009; a position he held till end of May 2011. Francis Lewu joined the Cape Peninsula University of Technology as HOD of Agriculture Department in the Faculty of Applied Sciences. He was appointed Associate Professor in 2014 and became a C Rated National Research Foundation Scholar of South Africa during the same year. He is a qualified Professional Natural Scientist and has supervised and mentored master and doctoral students to completion. Prof Lewu currently concentrates his research effort on the autecology and propagation of screened medicinals and alternative cultivation protocols for field crops and horticultural species. He is editorial member of many journals and serves as reviewer to the NRF, several local and international journals and reviews many masters and doctoral thesis for several universities.

Autecology, Propagation of screened medicinals, Crop Science, Horticulture

Halos-Kim, is a Registered Professional Agricultural Engineer in the Philippines and has over 30 years’ experience working on crop processing, postharvest and food engineering research, development, and most recent, on Extension, in Asia and Africa. She was the Former Head of the Postharvest Engineering Unit, IITA in Nigeria & a Researcher with the Agricultural Engineering Department of IRRI in Philippines. From 2009, Engr. Leony is the Thematic Director of the Postharvest and Agro processing (PHAP) Extension of the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) and is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Halos-Kim leads a team of specialists (agricultural engineers, food technologist, rural development experts and economists) in Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria and Uganda to promote the use of appropriate technologies to reduce losses, improve quality and food safety, and enhance food security and income of smallholder farmers in SAA focus countries, and in Africa in general.

Agricultural Engineering, Agro-processing, Crop Processing, Farm Power and Machinery, Postharvest Technology, Food Process Engineering, Agricultural Extension, Rural Development Works

Shashi Sharma is Professor and Chair in Biosecurity and Food Security, and Centre Director of Australia-China Centre for Abiotic and Biotic Stress Management in Agriculture, Horticulture and Forestry at Murdoch University in Western Australia. Until his appointment at Murdoch University, Professor Sharma was Director of Plant Biosecurity at the Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia from where he is on secondment. He has had a long career in food and agriculture spanning over 35 years and it includes working in several countries in different spheres of agriculture -- on-farm, post-harvest, trade, quarantine and biosecurity policy and planning, regulation, legislation and science. He studied for his MSc and PhD degrees at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) New Delhi and later returned to IARI as Professor and Head of the Division of Nematology. He worked well over a decade as a Scientist at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), spent his sabbatical at the Delta Centre of the University of Missouri, USA and International Fellowship at the Rothamsted International, UK. He is recipient of several awards in recognition of his contributions to agriculture including Excellence in Science Award of the Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research. Professor Sharma is a strong advocate of biosecurity as an integral component of global food security strategy and has been internationally speaking on biosecurity and food security issues for a number of years.

Food sustainably, Bio-security and policy, Food safety and Food security, Post-harvest food loss and food waste management, Managing chemical contaminants, and Innovative technologies for improved market access and trade.

A. Gattinger is agronomist and soil ecologist and coordinates climate-related research at FiBL Switzerland and Germany (www.fibl.org). He studied agriculture at the universities in Kassel/ Germany and Aberdeen/UK and got his PhD at TU München/Germany. He has international scientific expertise in the field of soil ecology and climate impact of farming systems. A. Gattinger is author/co-author of currently 47 peer-reviewed papers and teaches soil ecology at the universities Basel/CH and Giessen/Germany. He chairs the International Round Table of Organic Agriculture and Climate Change, an international, multi-stakeholder association. Furthermore, he is a member in the German organic grower association Naturland and runs an organic farm in Selters, Germany.

Climate impact of farming systems, Greenhouse gas fluxes in soil-plant systems, Structure and function of soil microbial communities as influenced by agricultural management, Adaptive capacity of soils and farming systems to climate change, Soil and water conservation including water and nutrient use efficiency.

Dr. Raveendra H Patil completed his PhD from Copenhagen University, Denmark and has worked as Post-Doctoral Researcher at Yangzhou University, China, University of Nottingham, UK, Aarhus University, Denmark, and University of Florida, USA. Now Dr. Patil is based in India at UAS, Dharwad involved in teaching and supervision of Graduate students, undertaking research on climate change impact and adaptation studies in agriculture, precision agriculture, and sustainable production systems, among others. He is a recipient of Young Scientist award from the Indian Government (ICAR, New Delhi) and ISCA, Kolkata, India for his work on agro-forestry, and over the years he has received number of national and international fellowships. For instance, ICAR Junior & Senior Fellowship, Chinese Govt. Fellowship, The Royal Society, London, UK Fellowship, The Danish Government Post-Doc Fellowship and NSF, USA Post-Doc Research Associate Fellowship. He has published more than 50 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member and reviewer to number of reputed journals.

Agro-forestry and Sustainable production systems Crop production under changing climate and plant nutrition Soil nutrient cycling and GHG emissions from agro-ecosystems Crop model application to assess climate change impacts and identify adaptation strategies

Dr. Mannava Sivakumar was the former Director, Climate Prediction and Adaptation Branch (CLPA) in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Weather and Climate Extremes Journal published by Elsevier and a senior Consultant with World Bank and WMO. He obtained his M.Sc (Agronomy) from the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, India, in 1972; and Ph.D in Agricultural Climatology from the Iowa State University (USA) in 1977. From 1977 to 1996, Dr Sivakumar worked at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India (1977-83) and in West Africa (1984-96) occupying the positions successively of Agroclimatologist, Principal Agroclimatologist, Team Leader, Resource Management Programme and Director, Soils and Agroclimatology Division. In July 1996, Dr Sivakumar joined the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and served as the Chief of the Agricultural Meteorology Division until 2008 when he was appointed as the Director of the Climate Prediction and Adaptation Branch (CLPA). Dr Sivakumar has over 300 publications to his credit, including 53 books and 85 articles in various international journals. Dr. Sivakumar received the "Young Scientist Award' and the Science Academy Medal from the Indian National Science Academy of India in 1983. He is a Fellow of seven international scientific societies including the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences of India, the Indian Meteorological Society, the National Environmental Science Academy, the American Society of Agronomy, the Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences of Belgium, the Academy of Georgofili of Italy and Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Biodiversity Science. Dr Sivakumar received the 2007 International Service in Agronomy Award from the American Society of Agronomy, the Award of Excellence for exceptional and outstanding contributions in the field of Science from the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) in 2009 and the Bharat Jyoti Award from the India International Friendship Society in 2012.

Agricultural Climatology, Agronomy

Dr. Mohammad Reza Alizadeh has completed his PhD. in the field of Agricultural Machinery Engineering from Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, I.R. Iran in 2007. He works as Associate Professor and head of Agricultural Engineering Department, the Rice Research Institute of Iran (RRII) with nearly 25 years active research experiences in the area of mechanization of agricultural crop production and post-production. He has authored and co-authored more than 80 original and review papers in the national and international peer-reviewed journals. He joined as a member of the editorial board and reviewer of many international reputed journals related to agricultural engineering and post-harvest technology.

Field and post-harvest machinery management, Design and development of agricultural machinery, Engineering Properties of Agricultural Products, Precision Farming in plant Production and Post-Production.

Dr. Kazi Kamrul Islam has completed his MSc from Wageningen University, the Netherlands and PhD from Kyushu University, Japan. Dr. K.K. Islam has also completed his postdoctoral studies from Kyushu University in 2015. Currently he is the head and Associate Professor at the Department of Agroforestry, Bangladesh Agricultural University (a renounced and famous agricultural university in Asia). He has published more than 40 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of number of Journals.

Agroforestry, Agroecology, Forest Conservation, Forest Management, Forest Economics, Natural Resource Management

Dr Sani Yusuf Ahmad is an Associate Professor in Agronomy with specialization in Horticultural Production. He obtained his B. Agriculture, MSc. and Ph.D degrees from the famous Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria in 1995, 2003 and 2010, respectively. He is a member of several professional bodies and has several publications in reputable national, International journals and numerous research/technical reports to his credit. He is currently a lecturer/researcher at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria where he is actively involved in teaching, training, research and extension services. He attended several International Conferences and trainings across the globe.

Agronomy, Agriculture Extension, Horticulture

Dr. Sunday Yiseyon Hosu was born in Ogun State Nigeria. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics and Farm Management from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria in 2004. He obtained Masters Degree from Nigeria’s premier university: the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, in 2007 and PhD in Agricultural/Environmental Economics from the University of Fort Hare in 2013. His PhD thesis is a holistic attempt to know the determinants of food system among the poor households in the semi-arid region; the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. He focused on modeling small farms’ optimal productivity under stressed environmental conditions, resource utilization and effective institutional services provision. His study made insight on the necessary conditions to boost smallholder productivity and food security among the small-holder farmers in the Eastern Cape Province. His research interest focuses on optimal resource utilization for sustainable livelihood, food security and food systems as well as rural poverty analysis. He has authored and co-authored manuscripts and proposal with others. He has read papers on food issues at several local and international conferences. Dr Hosu is the Lead Researcher and Consultant, Sunclare Consults Limited, a-one- stop research outfit for solutions to agriculture and agribusinesses issues based in Nigeria. He is currently a Research Fellow at Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, Eastern Cape.

Optimal resource utilization for sustainable livelihood, food security and food systems as well as rural poverty analysis

Dr Olayinka Ayobami AIYEGORO obtained a doctoral degree in Microbiology (Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology) from the renowned University of Fort Hare in South Africa. He has a versatile research career in applied microbiology- his research emphases include: Public Health Microbiology, Phytomedicine, Probiotics and Prebiotics Research. He has published above 40 research articles in international peer reviewed ISI rated journals and also has 2 book chapters in his archives. Dr Aiyegoro is a rated researcher by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa and also a registered professional member of South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions. He has worked as a University lecturer, research scientist and currently he is a Senior Researcher/Project Manager in GI Microbiology and Biotechnology Unit of Agricultural research Council- Animal Production Institute, South Africa. His daily activities include: researching students supervision, project and financial management, office administration and other Ad hoc duties.

Public Health Microbiology, Phytomedicine, Probiotics and Prebiotics Research

Dr. Justin K. Urassa holds a PhD (Developme Studies) and an M.Sc. Social research Methods (Development Studies) from the university of Sussex (United Kingdom), A Post-graduate Diploma in Poverty Analysis for Socioeconomic Security and Development from the Institute of Social Studies-The Hague, Holland in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF)-Tanzania and Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA)-Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, an MSc. and B.Sc. (Agriculture) from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) and a Diploma in Dairy Husbandry from Livestock Training Institute (LITI) Tengeru, Tanzania. In addition to his regular academic activities at the university he also acted as Associate Director for the Development Studies Institute, SUA from July 2004 to October 2005. Before Joining SUA in December 1999 he worked as a Livestock Tutor at the Ministry of Agriculture Training Institute (MATI) Mlingano, Tanga.

Rural livelihoods and well-being, Poverty analysis, Food Security, Agricultural and rural development, Policy analysis, Social development and gender and development.

Dr. (Mrs.) Angela M. Lamptey is a Lecturer at the Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon. She has a Ph.D in Fisheries Science from the University of Ghana. Her research interests include Aquaculture, Fisheries Ecology, Fish feeding habits, Biodiversity studies (Seabirds and sea turtles), aquatic biotopes studies and water quality studies. She is a reviewer to a number of International Peer-reviewed Journals and has over seven (7) publications in top peer-reviewed journals. She is a motivational speaker to various youth groups and a role model for young ladies.

Aquaculture, Seabird-fisheries interactions, Seabirds ecology, Fisheries ecology, Water quality studies, Fish feeding habits, Biodiversity studies (Seabirds and sea turtles), Aquatic biotopes studies.

YuegangZuo is currently a Full Professor in analytical and environmental chemistry and Director of Graduate Programs at Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He received his BS degree from Wuhan University, MS from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and PhD from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich. One of his recent research areas has focused on separation, identification and quantification of phenolic antioxidants in plants and examine their bioavailability in humans and animals. He has published over 70 peer-reviewed papers in prestigious international scientific journals such as Science, and JAFC.

Separation, identification and quantification of phenolic antioxidants in plants

Nnadozie Oraguzie received his PhD in Plant breeding and genetics at Lincoln University, New Zealand and worked for a year as a Post-Doctoral researcher at Canterbury University, Christchurch, New Zealand, before joining Plant and Food Research (PFR) Institute, New Zealand as Research Scientist in 1998. At PFR, he was the Manager of the national pome fruit germplasm collection and an Objective Leader in the Pome fruit breeding consortium program. With the help of a fellowship from the Science and Technology Agency (STA) of Japan in 2001, he led an international collaboration including PFR, Hirosaki University and the National Institute of Tree Fruit Science, Morioka, Japan, that first linked an allele of the Md-ACS1 gene to fruit softening in apple. He was also the recipient of an Invitation Fellowship from the Japan Ministry of Science and Technology in 2006. He joined the faculty of Washington State University (WSU) in 2008 as Associate Professor. He has authored over 40 peer-reviewed journal publications and a book, and currently serves on the editorial board of two journals.

His current research interests are at the interface of breeding and genomics. He leads the stone fruit breeding, genetics and extension program at WSU with emphasis on developing new sweet cherry varieties suited for growing in the PNW regions of the USA. He also has research interests in the genetics and genomics of traits that govern consumer appreciation of fresh fruit products in apple and pear.

Waled Elkhoby currently working at Agricultural Research Center, Field Crops Research Institute, Rice Research and Training Center (RRTC), Egypt

Crop Science

Shyam S Yadav completed his Bachelor Degree in agriculture at the University of Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, in 1964, and a Master Degree in Genetics & Plant Breeding from University of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India in 1967. He completed a PhD in Genetics & Plant Breeding from Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi, India, in 1987. Dr. Yadav has a very wide working experience at different research organizations. During 1969 to 2006, he worked at Division of Genetics, Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi on various capacities. In 2008 to 2010, he was working with National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), PNG as Chief Scientist. During 2010 to 2012 he was holding the position of International Advisor in Agriculture for Capacity Development in the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation & Livestock (MAIL), Kabul, Afghanistan. At different occasions, he also worked as a short time consultant with FAO, UNDP, ACIAR, DPI-Victoria, Australia, State University of Montana, USA etc. Dr Shyam S Yadav is working as Freelance International Research Consultant in Agriculture. Simultaneously, Dr. Yadav is also working as President, Manav Foundation at Manav Yadav Memorial Trust, Vikaspuri, New Delhi, India. He is also engaged as a part time International Research Advisor in Agriculture on Capacity Development in Agriculture at Agriculture Research Institute of Afghanistan (ARIA), Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation & Livestock, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Kabul, Afghanistan. Dr Yadav has a wide working experience as an agriculture scientist, consultant, and expert in different countries across the continents ranging from Australia, United States, Asia, and the Pacific Region. His primary interest of research has been focused on plant breeding, development of integrated crop production and management technologies and their dissemination among farming communities at village levels in diversified ecologies, mentoring and coaching of graduate and post graduate students, agricultural personnel, NGOs, and different stakeholders. Dr. Yadav has worked as Chief Editor for books on Crop Wild Relatives & Climate Change in 2015, A Publication of Wiley - Blackwell Inc. USA, Crop Adaptation to Climate Change in 2011, A Publication of Wiley – Blackwell Inc. USA, Climate Change and Management of Cool Season Grain Legume Crops in 2010, A Publication of Springer, The Netherlands, Chickpea Breeding and Management in 2007, A Publication of CABI, UK, and Lentils: An Ancient Crop of Modern Times in 2007, A Publication of Springer, The Netherlands.

Plant Breeding, Integrated Crop Production

Raveendra H Patil completed his PhD from Copenhagen University, Denmark and has worked as Post-Doctoral Researcher at Yangzhou University, China, University of Nottingham, UK, Aarhus University, Denmark, and University of Florida, USA. Now Dr. Patil is based in India at UAS, Dharwad involved in teaching and supervision of Graduate students, undertaking research on climate change impact and adaptation studies in agriculture, precision agriculture, sustainable production systems, among others. He is a recipient of Young Scientist award from the Indian Government (ICAR, New Delhi) and ISCA, Kolkata, India for his work on agro-forestry, and over the years he has received number of national and international fellowships. For instance, ICAR Junior & Senior Fellowship, Chinese Govt. Fellowship, The Royal Society, London, UK Fellowship, The Danish Government Post-Doc Fellowship and NSF, USA Post-Doc Research Associate Fellowship. He has published more than 50 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member and reviewer to number of reputed journals. He is one of the organizing committee members of this agri-2015 conference in Beijing.

Agro-forestry and Sustainable production systems
Crop production under changing climate and plant nutrition
Soil nutrient cycling and GHG emissions from agro-ecosystems
Crop model application to assess climate change impacts and identify adaptation strategies

Awarded with PhD (Horticulture) in 1991 and PDF (Visiting Scientist) from AVRDC (TAIWAN) in 1994-1995. Handled 21 externally funded schemes as Principal Investigator with the budget of Rs. 448.94 lakhs. Completed 15 schemes with the budget of Rs. 575.94 lakhs funded by various government, private and foreign agencies. Acted as backbone and catalyst for releasing more than 21 varieties and numerous horticultural techniques. Worked as the Dean, Horticultural College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University. Published 32 books, 39 book chapters, 127 research papers,etc. Editor of two seminar proceedings and delivered 23 radio talks. Totally there are 679 publications. Guided (15) MSc (Hort.) and (18) PhD (Hort.) students. Received Dr. G.S. Venkata Ram Memorial Award for the best research and oral paper presented at PLACROSYM XIV. Receipient of foreign Examiner, Dr. K.G. Shanmugavelu, Dr. S. Muthuswami medals, Golden Jubilee Symposium of Horticulture award for Best PhD research, Junior and Senior ICAR fellowship. Received TNAU Scientist Award (2010 & 2011) for research contribution by obtaining externally funded schemes (6 awards 2011 and 5 awards in 2012). Received Rastriya Gaurav Award, Bharat Jyoti Award and Best citizen of India from India International Friendship Society, New Delhi for the contribution to Horticultural Science. Also received MASU award (2012) for best technical bulletin in Tamil. Received Fellowship of CHAI (Confederation of Horticulture Associations of India) Award 2012 for meritorious service and outstanding performance in the field of Horticultural sciences. Served as a QRT member for oil palm and pomegranate. Chairman in Assessment Committee of ICAR for technical positions, Member in various committees in different universities, ICAR, Govt. of India. Recently Golden wings award for outstanding performance in Horticulture by Kalai Ilakkiya mandram of Theni and Best oral presentation award in Noni Search 2012. Awarded with in 2013 Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam life time achievement and best college award for academic excellence, in 2014 received best and highest number of horticulture book writer award in TNAU Coimbatore, India.

Horticulture

Mahendra P Srivastava born in 1942, obtained PhD in 1967 from University of Allahabad and subsequently joined Pb/Haryana Agricultural University, served as Rice/Cotton Pathologist, Extension Plant Pathologist, Professor, Head Plant Pathology, and Director Planning, Monitoring till 2002. He is considered an architect of Extension Plant Pathology and remembered for his contribution and innovative periodicals -- Plant Disease Warning & Plant Pathology Courier among others. He is known worldwide for his contribution in technology transfer and plant clinic. He has played a pivotal role in popularization of plant clinic by delivering invited lectures in India, China, New Zealand, Singapore, Italy, and Germany. He organized and chaired an ‘Evening Session on Plant Health Clinic’ in 9th International Congress of Plant Pathology at Turin, Italy in 2008, and delivered an invited keynote address on ’Plant clinics hold key to food security and organized Key note Session-5 in 10th ICPP at Beijing, 2013. He is recipient of several honors and awards, which include ‘Fellowship of The National Academy of Sciences’ in 1988, ‘Best Extension National Award’ 1996, Keynote speaker in 8th ICPP, New Zealand in 2003, and invited speaker on Knowledge transfer in 10th ICPP, 2013 at Beijing, Dr Radhakrishnan Award 2013, and International Technological Achievement Award on 9th February 2014. He has been President of Indian Society of Plant Pathologists, Chief Editor, Indian Journal of Plant Pathology, and Member Pesticide Panel of DST, GOI, and Technical Advisor of Pestology.

Technology Transfer, Plant Health Clinic, Integrated Pest Management and Fungicides

Awnindra Kumar Singh, presently posted as Senior Scientist (Plant Breeding) at Central Island Agricultural research Institute, Port Blair is working on the genetic improvement of food legumes. He did his PhD. from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi. He started his academic career from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi and also served SKUAST-Jammu in the capacity of Assistant Professor-cum-Jr. Scientist. He is recipient of ISPRD Fellow and AABS Award for Best Research Paper. Dr. Singh is associated with more than 8 international and national scientific societies and more than 98 publications in his credit comprises of research papers, abstracts, technical bulletins and book chapters.

Crop Breeding, Genetics

Dr. Russel J. Reiter, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Cellular and Structure Biology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA, Dr. Reiter has received three honorary M.D. degrees and one honorary D.Sc. degree. He has received numerous awards for his research including the A. Ross McIntyre Gold Metal (USA), the US Senior Scientist Award (Germany), Lizoni Lincee Award (Italy), the Inaugural Aaron B. Lerner Pioneer Award (FASEB, USA), etc. His scientific publications have been cited in the scientific literature more than 83,000 times; his h-index is 140. Thomson’s Institute lists Dr. Reiter as one of the World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds-2014 and he is listed in the top 100 scientists in the world in terms of frequency of citation in the fields of Cell Biology and Biochemistry. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Pineal Research (2013 impact factor = 7.81) and is or has been on the Editorial/Advisory Board of 26 other journals.

Plant Physiology

Dr. Eloy Rodiguez is the James A. Perkins endowed chair in Environmental Studies and Chemical Biology at Cornell University in New York. He has published over 170 research articles on the chemistry, evolutionary biology and ecology of secondary metabolites and their medicinal and agricultural uses. He is a AAAS fellow, founding member of SACNAS and has lectured throughout the US, Europe, China and South America on the chemistry, physiological role and medicinal use of plant secondary metabolites. Dr. Rodriguez' research has been funded by NSF, NIH and private institutions.

medicinal use of plant secondary metabolites and agricultural science

Nigel G. Halford obtained first degree in Genetics from the University of Liverpool in 1983 and a Masters degree in Applied Molecular Biology and Biotechnology from University College London in 1984. I studied the genes encoding a family of wheat seed proteins called the high molecular weight subunits of glutenin for my PhD while at Rothamsted in the 1980s, then spent 11 years at Long Ashton Research Station near Bristol before returning to Rothamsted in 2002. I am a Visiting Professor at Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences and was awarded The Magnolia Silver Award by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government in 2012. I am also Special Professor at the University of Nottingham, Council Member and Programme Secretary for the Association of Applied Biologists, Fellow of the Society of Biology and former member of the UK’s Advisory Committee for Animal Feedingstuffs (ACAF).

metabolic and stress signalling pathways in plants

Nurul Faridi has completed his PhD at the University of Cambridge, England, UK, 1988 and worked at the International Rice Research Institute and Intl. Maize and Wheat Research Institute, Mexico from 1989 to 1994, and then worked in the Department of Soil & Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University until 2003 before joining with the USDA Forest Service. He has been working in conventional and molecular plant cytogenetics for the last 25 years and published about 70 papers in reputed journals

molecular plant cytogenetics

NASIR S. A. MALIK has 40 years of agricultural research experience, including 16 years in an industrial environment. He has written over 50 research articles, one patent, (publication list attached), numerous industrial reports, pesticide registration reports for EPA, intellectual property disclosures, and attracted $2 million in extramural funding from industrial clients and over $700K in competitive research grants as PI &Co-PI. He received numerous invitations for seminars, writing reviews, chapters to edit books.

plant molecular biology, plant-microbe interactions (bacterial & fungal), plant insect interactions, pesticide metabolism, pesticide formulations, isolation of bio-pesticides, grafting and propagation methods in fruit trees and vegetable crops, organic farming, and soil science

A.A. Ivlev has completed his PhD at the age of 27 years from Chemical Technology University of D.I. Mendeleev. and got his 2-nd PhD from Institute of Chemical Physics of RAS. In 2005 he has discovered a link between carbon isotope distribution and temporal organization of cell processes and was awarded with medal “To Author of Scientific Discovery” by Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. Since 1995 he is Professor of Russian State Agrarian University of K,A. Timiryazev. He has published 66 papers in reputed journals and 4 monographs. The field of his scientific interests includes isotope fractionation in metabolism, photosynthesis, plant physiology, cell mechanisms, evolution, climatology.

cell processes;

Dr. Rajasekaran is a senior Research Biologist with the USDA-ARS. He obtained his B.S and M.S. from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India. After receiving his Ph.D. from The University of Sydney, Dr. Rajasekaran has continuously worked on the application of recombinant DNA technology towards genetic improvement of food, feed and fiber crops. He has published 135 full length publications plus 12 U.S. patents, >50 international patents, and 168 national/international conference abstracts. He serves as an Adjunct Professor in five universities. Currently his research focus at USDA-ARS is on effective control or elimination of preharvest aflatoxin contamination caused by Aspergillus spp through biotechnological means in cotton and maize .

recombinant DNA technology,

Dr. Grace Chen obtained her Ph.D from University of Wisconsin at Madison, and did her postdoctoral studies from University of California ̶ Plant Gene Expression Center. She has published more than 44 papers in reputed journals is globally recognized as an expert on oilseed biotechnology.

Plant Gene Expression

Prof. Ilan Chet completed his Ph.D. in microbiology at the Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has published more than 390 articles, edited five books and holds 38 patents. Prof. Chet served as Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture and Vice President of the Hebrew University and was President of the Weizmann Institute of Science. He was visiting professor at Harvard, Colorado State, Cornell and Rutgers Universities. Prof. Chet was awarded with the Max-Planck, the Israel Prize, the Wolf Prize and more. He is nowadays Deputy Secretary General of the Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean.

plant pathology and soil microbiology

Gunnar Wingsle has completed his PhD at the age of 34 years from Department of Forest Genetics & Plant Physiology. He has published more than 60 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as a PI of the proteomic masspectrometry facility at Chemical Biological Centre at Umeå University and SLU since 2000.

Genetics & Plant Physiology

André Luis de Alcantara Guimarães has completed his Ph.D. in Botany from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and postdoctoral studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy from UFRJ. He is an associate professor of Faculty of Pharmacy from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He has published papers in reputed journals of Plant Science, especially with galls and their metabolical changes on host plants, and research with medicinal plants.

medicinal plants

Igor G. Loskutov has completed his PhD (Plant Breeding) at the age of 29 years from N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Industry, St-Petersburg (Russia) and in 2003 his dissertation of Doctor of Science (D. Sc., Botany and Plant Breeding) from the N.I. Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR). Now he is the head of department of Plant Genetic Resources Oat, Barley, Rye (VIR) and full professor of Biology Faculty of St-Petersburg State University. He has published more than 140 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of journals Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution since 2008, Advances in Plant Sciences Research since 2013.

Plant Genetic , Plant Breeding

Rajinder Singh is currently a Principal Research Officer at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. Rajinder has been with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board for the last 19 years. He holds a PhD in Plant Genetics and is currently the Head of Genomics Unit of the Advanced Biotechnology & Breeding Centre, at the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB). Rajinder has authored and co-authored more than 32 refereed publications

Plant Genetics

Dr Milan S. Stankovic has received his PhD in University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Science, Republic of Serbia during the period of 2007-2012. Currently, he is working as assistant professor an the same University. His research has included Plant biology and ecology. He is serving as an editorial member of several reputed journals like Plants, Advanced Crop Science, Research in Plant Science. He has authored 45 scientific papers published in international journals, 8 scientific papers published in national journals, 36 International conference proceedings and 46 national conference proceedings.

Plant biology and ecology

Professor Gresshoff is Professor of Botany at UQ. He is also Director of the Australian Research Council’s (ARC) Centre of Excellence in Integrative Legume Research. He received his PhD in Genetics from ANU (Canberra) in 1974 and DSc in Molecular Genetics (also ANU) in 1988. In his 40 year career in plant science he has developed deep interests in plant development and its genetic control. He has focused his interests on legume plants, and especially the process of root nodulation which is a prerequisite for symbiotic nitrogen fixation. He has published over 300 research papers, edited 10 books, and is co-inventor listed on 12 patents. He is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He is member of numerous international editorial boards as well as expert advisor to the IAEA, the European Union, Qantas, and other biotechnology interests. He is a dedicated teacher and researcher and feels that the understanding of biological processes is essential for industrial development of an idea.

plant Genomics, Agriculture, plant science

John Salmeron is the Director of PlantSciences at Precision BioSciences, Inc. in Durham NC, USA, and has worked in the field of plant biotechnology for over 20 years. Prior to joining Precision, he held positions in business development and led the agricultural R&D team at Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology. John was a research portfolio manager at Syngenta Biotechnology Inc., and held leadership roles directing teams in trait development and genomics. He is the founder of eiiConsulting, an early-stage biotechnology consulting firm, has an A.B. degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and a Ph.D. from Duke University.

Plant sciences, Genome editing

Distinguished Professor Dr. Digvir Jayas was educated at the G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in Pantnagar, India; the University of Manitoba, and the University of Saskatchewan. Before assuming the position of Vice-President (Research and International), he held the position of Vice-President (Research) for two years and Associate Vice-President (Research) for eight years. Prior to his appointment as Associate Vice-President (Research), he was Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Department Head of Biosystems Engineering, and Interim Director of the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals. He is a Registered Professional Engineer and a Registered Professional Agrologist. Dr. Jayas held a Canada Research Chair in Stored-Grain Ecosystems for seven years. He conducts research related to drying, handling and storing grains and oilseeds and digital image processing for grading and processing operations in the Agri-Food industry. He has authored or co-authored over 800 technical articles in scientific journals, conference proceedings and books dealing with issues of storing, drying, handling and quality monitoring of grains. He has collaborated with researchers in several countries but has had significant impact on development of efficient grain storage, handling and drying systems in Canada, China, India, Ukraine and USA.Dr. Jayas has received awards from several organizations in recognition of his research and professional contributions. He is the recipient of the 2008 Dr. John M. Bowman Memorial Winnipeg Rh Institute Foundation Award, as well as the 2008 Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Brockhouse Canada Prize. In 2009, he was inducted as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. He has received professional awards from Agriculture Institute of Canada, Applied Zoologists Research Association (India), American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba, Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Canadian Academy of Engineering, Canadian Society for Bioengineering, Engineers Canada, Engineering Institute of Canada, Indian Society of Agricultural Engineers, Manitoba Institute of Agrologists, National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (India), National Academy of Sciences (India) and Sigma Xi.Dr. Jayas serves on the boards of many organizations including: NSERC, ArcticNet, Composite Innovation Centre, Engineers Canada, ISIS Resource Centre, Genome Prairie, International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID), MabNet, Research Manitoba, Cancer Care Manitoba Projects Grants and Awards Committee, TRIUMF, and TRTech. He is also chair of the board of directors of RESOLVE, a prairie research network on family violence, and of the advisory board of the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, a research centre dedicated to the discussion, discovery, and development of functional foods. He has served as President of Agriculture Institute of Canada, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Manitoba, Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Canadian Society for Bioengineering, and Manitoba Institute of Agrologists. Currently he is serving as President of Engineers Canada, the national organization of the 12 provincial and territorial associations that regulate the practice of engineering in Canada and license the country's 280,000 professional engineers.

Plant Science, Genetics, Molecular Biology

Did her P.hD

Plant Genetics,Bioinformatics

Dr. Yinghua Huang is a Research Geneticist for U.S. Department of Agriculture and serves as the Lead Scientist for the Plant Genetics Program. Before that, he served as faculty member for Oklahoma State University for ten years and now remains an Adj. Professor at the university. He is a member of editorial boards for several scientific journals. He earned a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Michigan Technological University. His scientific background is in plant genetics and molecular biology, and he has considerable research experience in plant biotechnology, genomics and crop improvement. During his early career, Dr. Huang made a breakthrough in developing a reliable system for producing transgenic larch plant, which represents the first record of genetically engineered conifer tree, carrying the important traits such as resistance to insects and herbicide. Another example of his recent research accomplishments is the systematic evaluation of the US sorghum germplasm collection (> 42,000 accessions), leading to the discovery of important new sources of resistance to greenbug and sugarcane aphids, the most important insects of field crops, including barley, sorghum and wheat, then incorporation of the new resistance into crop breeding programs. Furthermore, using the cutting-edge microarray, RNA-seq and the next-generation sequencing technologies, his lab has generated the differential expression profiles which resulted in the identification of the key genes and the networks that regulate the host defense against insect pests, crop yield traits, and bioenergy quality in sorghum. In summary, the overall goals of his research are to conduct basic studies to enhance our understanding of biological processes in plants, to apply newly developing genomics and biotechnologies to facilitate genetic improvement of crop plants, and finally to improve the production system for a better utilization of agricultural and natural resources.

Plant Genetics, Molecular biology and Microbiology

Dr. Huaan Yang is a plant pathologist by training with B.Sc. in1982 and M.Sc. in1985. He complted PhD from University of Western Australia in1992. He became a molecular geneticist following his development of a DNA fingerprinting technology called “MFLP” in 2001. His lab has been the only lab for large-scale application molecular markers on MAS in plant breeding on legume grain crops in Australia since 2004. Since 2011, his lab has been fully switch into NGS and genome sequencing based approaches for pre-breeding in lupin.

Plant Pathology

Dr Meixue Zhou has been involved in plant research for more than 30 years which includes more than 10 years of experience in China. His major research areas include physiological and molecular mechanisms of plant biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. He is serving as a review panel member for ARC of Australia and the Natural Science Foundation of China. He is the co-director of Australia China Research Centre of Plant Stress Biology. In last 10 years more than 100 papers were published in various peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of editorial board of several journals.

Dr Meixue Zhou has been involved in plant research for more than 30 years which includes more than 10 years of experience in China. His major research areas include physiological and molecular mechanisms of plant biotic and abiotic stress tolerance. He is serving as a review panel member for ARC of Australia and the Natural Science Foundation of China. He is the co-director of Australia China Research Centre of Plant Stress Biology. In last 10 years more than 100 papers were published in various peer-reviewed journals. He is a member of editorial board of several journals.

Grace Chen has obtained her PhD from University of Wisconsin at Madison and her Postdoctoral studies from University of California, Plant Gene Expression Center. She has published more than 44 papers in reputed journals and she is globally recognized as an expert on oilseed biotechnology.

Plant Gene Expression Center

Kulvinder S. Gill has completed his PhD at the age of 28 years from Kansas State University followed by postdoctoral studies at the same university for about 3 years. He is the professor and director of the Feed the Future Innovation lab: Climate Resilient Wheat. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals. His research program focuses on understanding and utilizing chromosome pairing control in polyploids, developing alternate dwarfing gene systems for wheat, and on using modern tools and technologies for crop improvement

Plant Biotechnology

André Luis de Alcantara Guimarães has completed his Ph.D. in Botany from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and postdoctoral studies at the Faculty of Pharmacy from UFRJ. He is an associate professor of Faculty of Pharmacy from Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. He has published papers in reputed journals of Plant Science, especially with galls and their metabolical changes on host plants, and research with medicinal plants.

Plant Molecular Biology

Dr. Liao completed his PhD in 1994 from Aachen University of Technology, Germany and postdoctoral studies in 1996 from this university. He is the director of Molecular Biotechnology Laboratory of Triticeae Crops, Huazhong Agricultural University. He has published more than 100 papers in reputed journals and has been serving as an editorial board member of International and National Journals.

Molecular Biotechnology

Andrzej Wasiak is working as a Assoc Prof in Bialystok University of Technology located in Poland.International experience includes various programs, contributions and participation in different countries for diverse fields of study and interests reflect in wide range of publications in various national and international journals

Experimental studies and mathematical modelling of transitions occurring in technological processes: like energy demand, material’s structure formation, etc.

Dr. Ajay Parida is a Plant molecular biologist with Ph.D. degree from University of Delhi in 1992. He has made outstanding contribution in the area of Coastal Ecosystem management using modern biotechnological tools. Dr. Parida has over 100 research papers in peer reviewed journals. Dr. Parida is Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Agriculture Sciences and National Academy of Sciences of India. He is recipient of many awards such as Prof. Umakant Sinha Memorial Award, B. M. Birla Prize and National Biosciences Award. He was also awarded Padmashri (a civilian award) by Govt. of India for his scientific contribution.

Plant Genomics, Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics

Dr Wu is currently working as a professor of the University of Science and Technology of China. The main research directions are wheat and energy plants to create a mutant form of cloning and molecular breeding , and utilization of industrial research and development of energy plants . In academic journals such as "Nature", "Plant Physiology", "Genes and Development" and other publications published more than 40 papers , she presided over the CAS STS project , the CAS Knowledge Innovation Project directional project , the forestry sector projects, the National Natural Science fund projects. Apply for more than 30 domestic and international patents , four new appraisal results, participate in the completion of achievements in industry 3 . Relying on the State Forestry Administration Team Energy Research Center Lin , academician workstation , CAS Key Laboratory of other platforms , there are several well-known scholars to make the team a visiting professor

cloning and molecular breeding

Ana Claudia Macedo Vieira has completed his PhD at the age of 36 years from University of São Paulo, Brazil. She is associate professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and coordinates the pharmacobotany Laboratory, which conducts research with galls on sandbank environment, control of drugs and medicinal plants. Develops university extension projects with rational use of medicinal plants and unconventional food plants to farmers. She has published papers in reputed journals of Plant Science, Especially with galls and metabolical changes on host plants, and research with medicinal plants,

Plant Genetics

Dr Shashi Kumar is a Team Leader, ICGEB, New Delhi, India. Graduated in Genetics from the University of Delhi, 1998. Postdoctoral research at University of Virginia, University of Central Florida, University of California Berkeley. Scientist at Yulex Inc., USA and USDA, Albany, CA. USA. Participated in establishing the “Centre for Advanced Bio-Energy Research” supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. His current focuses are on metabolic engineering for drug biosynthesis, metabolic engineering of rubber plant for hypoallergenic latex, DNA barcoding, development of sustainable algal biofuel technology and genetic engineering of marine algae for higher lipid and biomass.

Genetics

Mahendar Thudi obtained his PhD in Plant Sciences from University of Hyderabad, India. Seminal contribution of Mahendar Thudi includes genome sequences of chickpea, molecular breeding products in chickpea, genetic resources like TILLING populations (in chickpea and pearl millet) and genomic resources like SSR markers, genetic maps (in chickpea and pearl millet) and high-throughput DNA fingerprinting, genome diversity analysis, marker-trait associations and chickpea physical map. His research articles (>40) are published in high-impact factor journals including, Nature Biotechnology (1), Scientific Reports (1), PLoS ONE (3), Theoretical and Applied Genetics (1), etc. that are widely read and cited.

Plant Biotechnology

He completed my Masters in Genetics and Plant breeding from University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Karnataka, India and later pursued his Doctoral degree in the department of Plant biotechnology. Worked extensively on genomics & transcriptomics plant improvement for his doctoral studies. Later joined University of Agricultural Sciences, Raichur as Assistant Professor of Biotechnology in the year 2011.He was nominated as head of the newly opened department of Molecular biology and Agricultural biotechnology in University of agricultural sciences, Raichur on 2014 and continuing till now. He is guiding three postdoctoral student and advisory member for five doctoral student. Published more than 25 research papers and abstracts.

Plant Genetics and Plant Breeding