Welcome Archives - World Vegetable Center

Scientist – Genetic Resources

Ken Hoshikawa joined WorldVeg in May 2019. Previously, he was a postdoctoral fellow at Japan’s RIKEN Institute in 2012. From 2012-2015 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Tsukuba, and later served there as an Assistant Professor from 2015-2018. He joined the Biological Resources and Postharvest Division of the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) in October 2018. In May 2019 he was seconded to the World Vegetable Center to conduct collaborative research on heat tolerant tomato and the genetic diversity of Amaranthus sp. Dr. Hoshikawa’s research includes evaluation of internal control genes for the development of dwarf tomato cultivars, and improvement of transient expression systems for plant recombinant protein production.

Brassica2019-05-29T09:22:30+00:00May 29, 2019|Categories: MAY2019, Welcome|Tags: Hoshikawa|

Scientist – Traditional Vegetables Conservation and Utilization

Sognigbe N’Danikou joined WorldVeg on 8 April 2019 as a Scientist – Traditional Vegetables Conservation and Utilization. He is based at WorldVeg Eastern and Southern Africa in Arusha, Tanzania. Sognigbe received his PhD in Plant Genetic Resources and Crop Protection from the University of Abomey-Calavi in Benin. Specialized in plant genetic resources management and participatory crop breeding, he brings 11 years of research and development experience in sustainable use and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Sognigbe’s background encompasses the management of genetic diversity in farming systems, including African traditional vegetables, and the use of multidisciplinary approaches to understand the biophysical (seed technology and crop physiology) and social drivers for in-situ and ex-situ conservation of agrobiodiversity to support smallholders’ livelihood systems and food and nutrition security.

Brassica2019-04-11T09:28:00+00:00April 10, 2019|Categories: MAR2019, Welcome|Tags: Eastern and Southern Africa, Sognigbe N'Danikou|

Director – WorldVeg Korea Office

Seonghoe Jang is the Director of the new WorldVeg Korea Office. He was born in Daegu. Korea. During graduate school, he studied genes involved in flowering and flower development of tobacco and rice. As a postdoctoral research scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research (Cologne, Germany), he contributed to the identification of “florigen” a mobile flowering triggering molecule. In Taiwan, he focused on genetic resources determining plant architecture and controlling flowering time in rice and Phalaenopsis orchids. As Director of the Korea Office, Dr. Jang connects WorldVeg with Korea’s horticultural researchers, businesses, and production trainers, in collaboration with the National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science (NIHHS), Korea.

Brassica2019-04-11T09:24:27+00:00April 10, 2019|Categories: MAR2019, Welcome|Tags: Korea, Seonghoe Jang|

Marwan Benali

Marwan Benali is the new Post-Doctoral Scientist for Impact Evaluation for the UK aid Africa Project. He is based at WorldVeg West and Central Africa – Coastal and Humid Regions, Cotonou, Benin. Marwan received his PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Göttingen, Germany.

Brassica2019-02-14T08:20:36+00:00January 22, 2019|Categories: JAN2019, Welcome|

Delphine Larrousse

Delphine Larrousse joined the Center in January 2019 as Regional Director for East and Southeast Asia, based in Bangkok, Thailand. She previously served as a Senior Program Officer in Agriculture and Food Security at Canada’s International Development Research Center (IDRC), with a leadership role in research uptake and knowledge management. Her expertise in international development is founded on 15 years of experience designing, managing, monitoring, and evaluating projects globally. She has lived in 10 countries, and has led research and development projects in more than 15 countries. Her specific strengths include communication across cultures, disciplines, and sectors, coordinating large multidisciplinary research teams, and fostering partnerships.

Brassica2019-01-25T09:43:22+00:00January 22, 2019|Categories: JAN2019, Welcome|

Adidjatou Olouwatoï RADJI

Adidjatou Olouwatoï Radji joined WorldVeg as an Administrative Assistant at WorldVeg West and Central Africa - Coastal & Humid Regions in Cotonou, Benin. She holds a MS in Law/General Administration and International Relations and a BA in English Language from Abomey-Calavi University, Benin. Adidjatou previously worked as an executive assistant at VSP Africa, administrative and human resource assistant at Tolaro Global, and also as a translator and interpreter at the Benin Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Brassica2018-09-03T07:10:40+00:00September 3, 2018|Categories: AUG2018, Welcome|

RESEARCH ASSISTANT: PLANT BREEDING

Herbaud Phanuel Fortunat Zohoungbogbo (Research Assistant: Plant Breeding) has joined the team at WorldVeg West and Central Africa Coastal & Humid Regions in Cotonou, Benin. in 2017 Herbaud received his MSc in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the Department of Genetics and Biotechnology at the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin. His research interest is the development of improved crop varieties that are economically efficient and sustainable, both in quality and yield, especially under limiting environments.

Brassica2018-08-31T07:18:12+00:00August 31, 2018|Categories: AUG2018, Welcome|

New Borlaug-Ruan interns

The World Vegetable Center is pleased to announce the appointment of two Borlaug-Ruan International Internship interns for 2018. Ms. Tyler Reid, 17, from Brandywine, Maryland, USA, will study plant genetics at WorldVeg headquarters under the guidance of Genebank Manager Dr. Maarten van Zonneveld. She has explored symbiotic plant systems through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s AgDiscovery program and with the National Park System. Mr. Chase Krug, 17, from Marion, Iowa, USA, has been conducting crop research on potatoes, corn, peas, and soybeans since his freshman year of high school. He will work out of the WorldVeg South Asia office in Hyderabad, India with Legume Breeder Dr. Ramakrishnan Nair and Visiting Entomologist Dr. Abdul Rasheed War.

Brassica2018-10-22T01:09:58+00:00May 15, 2018|Categories: In Brief, JUN2018, Welcome|Tags: Borlaug-Ruan internships, World Food Prize|

Dr. Paola Andrea Sotelo-Cardona

Dr. Paola Andrea Sotelo-Cardona has joined WorldVeg as a Scientist in Entomology. Paola received her PhD in Entomology from Kansas State University, USA in 2010. Prior joining WorldVeg she was a researcher at the Colombian Corporation of Agricultural Research (CORPOICA) in Colombia and worked in the Applied Entomology group at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Switzerland. Her research interests include biology and ecology of insect pests; integrated pest management; host plant resistance; research methodologies in entomology and plant breeding; application of statistical methods to insect ecology; and chemical ecology of plant-insect interactions. She collaborates with WorldVeg Lead Entomologist and Flagship Program Leader -- Safe and Sustainable Value Chains, Dr. Srinivasan Ramasamy.

Brassica2018-04-18T04:58:02+00:00April 13, 2018|Categories: APR2018, Welcome|Tags: Paola Andrea Sotelo-Cardona|

Scientist – Vegetable Physiology

Dr. Tae-Cheol Seo, a research scientist with the Vegetable Research Division of the National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science (NIHHS), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea, studies the physiology of vegetable crops, in particular, Capsicum spp.—an important crop in Korea. Dr. Seo has been seconded to WorldVeg from the NIHHS for a term of two years (2018-2020) to evaluate and select pepper genetic resources tolerant to heat and waterlogging. He previously held a research position with the NIHHS Protected Horticulture Experimental Station.

Brassica2018-02-13T06:24:05+00:00February 13, 2018|Categories: 2018 FRESH archive, FEB2018, Welcome|Tags: Tae-Cheol Seo|