New Faculty & Faculty Recognitions
UGA resumes its blueberry breeding program
Georgia currently ranks as the #2 state for blueberry production, fueled in part by blueberry cultivars developed by retired breeder, Scott NeSmith.
We are pleased to welcome Dr. Ye (Juliet) Chu to our faculty as our new blueberry breeder. Juliet will be operating out of our Tifton campus.
Dr. Juliet Chu, blueberry breeder
Robin Buell joins the Institute
On the genomics side, we are very pleased to announce that Dr. C. Robin Buell joined our faculty as Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics.
She is housed in the Center for Applied Genetics Technologies, where her research program focuses on the genome biology of plants and plant pathogens, including comparative genomics, bioinformatics, and computational biology. Previously, Dr. Buell was a University Distinguished Professor at Michigan State University.
Dr. Robin Buell, Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar Chair in Crop Genomics
Ozias-Akins receives D.W. Brooks Award
The college’s highest research award, the 2022 D.W. Brooks Award for Excellence in Research, went to Dr. Peggy Ozias-Akins.
Already a Distinguished Research Professor and D.W. Brooks Distinguished Professor, Peggy continues to be recognized for her ground-breaking research on apomictic reproduction in grasses and peanut molecular genetics.
Dr. Peggy Ozias-Akins, Distinguished Research Professor
Grants Overview
During 2022, IPBGG faculty received 51 grants totaling $10,358,679 in extramural funding that was processed through the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and $4,109,047 as co-investigators with faculty from other colleges. Not all multi-year grants are reflected in the total. Of these, some of the more notable grants are listed below:
Grants over $100,000
- A New Adaptive Peak in Fiber Fineness via Interspecific Introgression – awarded to Peng Chee
- An integrated approach to enhance durability of SCN resistance for long-term, strategic SCN management (Phase III) Year II – awarded to Melissa Mitchum
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation - Rapid genetics for plants and microbes - awarded to Wayne Parrott
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation - Sustainable switchgrass domestication - awarded to Ali Missaoui
- Development and deployment of High Oleic/Low Linolenic Acid soybean – awarded to Zenglu Li
- Development of peanut lines with superior pest resistance using wild species and marker-assisted breeding – awarded to Soraya Bertioli
- Discovering and deploying genetic solutions across maturity groups for durable resistance to multiple nematodes - awarded to Zenglu Li
- Genetic dissection of yield-related traits enabled by high throughput phenotyping and whole genome sequencing of a peanut MAGIC population – awarded to Ye “Juliet” Chu
- Increasing the value of U.S. soybean by combining high meal protein, high yield and other valuable traits utilizing genetic diversity, breeding, and enomic tools - awarded to Zenglu Li
- Optimization of nutritional programs for stone fruit in the Southeastern U.S – awarded to Dario Chavez
- PLANT BREEDING PARTNERSHIP: Transforming Phaseolus breeding via genome-enabled interspecific trait discovery and introgression – awarded to Robin Buell
- Trees for the future: Coordinated use of genetic tools to develop geographic and climate adapted pecans – Awarded to Patrick Conner
Grants over $1,000,000
- BioPoplar: A tunable chassis for diversified bioproduct production – Awarded to Robin Buell
- Systems analysis of the beneficial associations of sorghum with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi studied with genetics, genomics, imaging and microbiomics – awarded to Katrien Devos
- Center for Bioenergy Innovation - Sustainable switchgrass domestication - awarded to Katrien Devos
- Decoding the volatile aroma of tomato fruits – Awarded to Esther van der Knaap
Alumni! Claim your free shirt!
Thanks to a generous sponsor, IPBGG is offering all its alumni a free shirt. We just ask that you wear it proudly.
To claim your shirt, please send your name, current address, email, and phone number to Deborah Franco (dfranco@uga.edu).
Be sure to specify the style (T-shirt vs polo), male or female, and size, no later than April 17, 2023. T-shirts are also available in black.