OGBONNAYA, Francis C.
Title: Dr.
Address: International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
          (ICARDA), Biodiversity and Integrated Gene Management
          (BIGM)
          P.O. Box 5466, Aleppo, Syria.
Tel: +963-21 26912474
Email: F.Ogbonnaya@cgiar.org
Education Background:
    2003  Diploma of Frontline Management, RMIT, Victoria, Australia
    1999  Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics, University of Melbourne, Australia
    1990  Graduate Diploma in Agric (1st class honours), University of Melbourne, Australia
    1986  B. Agric. (Hons 2nd class upper division), University of Nigeria, Nsukka
Working Experiences:
    2011.4 – present  Head Biotechnology Unit Biodiversity and Integrated Gene Management (BIGM), ICARDA
    2007.8 –2011.3  Senior Research Scientist Biodiversity and Integrated Gene Management, ICARDA
    2002.7 - 2007.7  Senior Research Scientist Biosciences Research Division, Department of Primary Industries,Horsham,Victoria, Australia.
Research Interests:
Production of high quality food crops – cereals and grain legumes are limited by recurring intractable problems such as diseases, pests and abiotic stresses including drought, heat and saline stresses. Additionally, the constantly evolving virulence to disease and pest resistance threatens ongoing production of high quality grain. My research interest can be divided into three major themes: to develop adapted cereal and grain legume germplasm lines with improved resistance or tolerance to these problems. Aim is to develop and exploit genomics and informatics technologies and resources, in conjunction with traditional skills in genetics and plant breeding, to identify genes underlying both simple and complex traits. We will exploit natural genetic variation to identify new sources of resistance in landraces and wild relatives of cereal and legume crops, introgress them into desirable backgrounds using contemporary and emerging techniques, and release them for use as parental genetic stocks for cultivar development. The second objective is to increase our understanding of the molecular basis of disease and pest virulence, host resistance, and stress tolerance to support strategic development and deployment of genetic resistance. Greater understanding of secreted virulence/avirulence effectors in insects’ pests and fungal pathogens may lead to better strategies for durability. Greater understanding of the mechanisms of durable genetic resistance to fungal pathogens and drought/heat/salinity tolerance may lead to discovery of new genes or alleles with complementary mechanisms and to optimized gene combinations in new cultivars. The third objective is to develop and apply phenotypic and genotypic selection technology for these traits to facilitate germplasm and cultivar development. Currently, exploring the potential of association genetics in wheat using SNP genotyping in an attempt to identify genes / loci in elite wheat germplasm that control traits manipulated by breeders.