Former Agriculture and Agri-Food bean breeder Dr. Ali Navabi has been named as the new professor in wheat breeding at the University of Guelph. Dr. Navabi has been acting as a bean breeder in the AAFC/University of Guelph Bean Breeding Program since 2008.
“We are proud to see this initiative come to fruition through the public/private partnership between Grain Farmers of Ontario, SeCan, and the University of Guelph,” says Henry Van Ankum, Chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario. “Dr. Navabi brings extensive experience in plant breeding and genetics, including 15 years of wheat breeding.”
Dr. Navabi has contributed to graduate teaching and has been an active advisor of graduate students at the University of Guelph. As well, he is currently the editor of the Canadian Journal of Plant Science.
“I am very excited and believe that this partnership is providing great opportunities for Ontario wheat, as an integral part of the cropping system,” says Navabi. “I am looking forward to working very closely with the Grain Farmers of Ontario, SeCan, and other public and private stakeholders in establishing a University-based Wheat Breeding Program to support sustainable and profitable wheat production in Ontario and to train highly qualified new generation plant breeders.”
Dr. Navabi will start this new position on May 1, 2014. His research will focus on creating novel wheat varieties with enhanced productivity, disease resistance, pest resistance, and enhanced utility in crop rotation systems.