Aberdeen, Idaho
July 16, 2007
Jianli Chen, a research scientist
in wheat breeding and genetics at Virginia Tech, has joined the
faculty of the University of
Idaho College of Agricultural and Life Sciences as its wheat
breeder in Aberdeen.
Chen earned her Ph.D. in 2005 in plant genetics and breeding at
Virginia Tech, where she led a program focusing on breeding and
genetics of wheat Fusarium head blight disease. She received her
master's degree, also in plant breeding and genetics, from
Northwest Agricultural University in Shaanxi, China, in 1988.
"We're very pleased to have her join the Department of Plant,
Soil and Entomological Sciences," says department head Ding
Johnson. "She comes to us with extensive experience in gene
mapping and other techniques that contribute to accelerated
variety development. Her interests in genomics and nutritional
enhancement of cereal grains are well-suited to our needs. We're
lucky to get someone with the extent and diversity of her
background to fill one of our two wheat breeding positions."
Chen's goals at the University of Idaho including deploying
novel and integrated technologies to speed variety release and
improve breeding efficiency and productivity. She will combine
traditional breeding methods with molecular marker assisted
selection and a new breeding technique called doubled haploid,
which rapidly stabilizes desirable traits in new breeding lines.
Chen will develop hard white, hard red and soft white spring and
winter wheats, aiming for varieties with topnotch breadmaking
and Asian noodle quality as well as specialty varieties for
biofuel production and improved human nutritional value. High
grain yields and durable resistance to stripe rust,
Cephalosporium stripe, Fusarium footrot, Hessian fly and dwarf
bunt are among her key objectives.
With more than 20 years of experience in wheat breeding, Chen is
confident that she can make a significant contribution to
Idaho's wheat industry. "Idaho is a very good place to produce
good grain, and it's a great place to work on them," she says.
Before joining the staff of Virginia Tech, Chen worked on the
research faculty of Shaanxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences in
China and was a visiting scholar and scientist at the USDA
Agricultural Research Service's Forage and Range Research
Laboratory in Logan, Utah. She anticipates that researchers with
the USDA ARS Small Grains and Potato Germplasm Research Unit,
also located at Aberdeen, will be a "great resource for
collaboration."
Juliet Windes, University of Idaho Extension cereal crop systems
agronomist in Idaho Falls and Aberdeen, says Chen "brings a
whole lot of energy and enthusiasm to her position. With her
very extensive background in wheat breeding in China and the
U.S., she will add a fresh dimension to our Aberdeen breeding
program."
Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state's
flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate
education and research university, bringing insight and
innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University
researchers attract nearly $100 million in research grants and
contracts each year; the University of Idaho is the only
institution in the state to earn the prestigious Carnegie
Foundation ranking for high research activity. The university's
student population includes first-generation college students
and ethnically diverse scholars. Offering more than 150 degree
options in 10 colleges, the university combines the strengths of
a large university with the intimacy of small learning
communities. |
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