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Vavilov-Frankel Fellowships
Past Fellowships
To date, fellowships have been awarded to 27 scientists from 19 countries including Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Cameroon, China, El
Salvador, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kenya, India, Iran, Mauritius, Mexico, The
Netherlands, Nigeria, Russia, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Venezuela. Research by the Fellows has covered a wide range of topics related to the conservation and use of plant genetic
resources, such as new conservation technologies and strategies, socioeconomic, human and policy aspects of
conservation and use, germplasm management, forest genetic resources conservation and use strategies, genetic
erosion assessment and mitigation and conservation and use of specific crops. Many studies have focused on crops
and species of significant economic, nutritional and cultural importance to the Fellows’ home countries;
examples include wild and domesticated populations of cactus, ebony, pistachio, cacao, common vetch, peach, oat,
wild potato, Grewia optiva, sorghum, fluted pumpkin, oriental beech,
emmer wheat and barley.
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Top right, Frankel; bottom
left, Vavilov. From the cover 'Scientists, Plants and Politics' by Robin
Pistorius |
Still other studies have focused on the socio-economic aspects of conservation
and use; for example, institutional and policy
changes for supporting farmer-led participatory crop improvement and conservation. The first two fellowships
in 1993 examined the historical background of the plant genetic
resources movement and resulted in two books:
Scientists, Plants and Politics by Robin Pistorius of The Netherlands and Vavilov and his Institute by Igor
Loskutov of Russia.
Since
1994, Fellowships have been awarded to scientists from developing
countries. The experience gained by the Fellows enables them to contribute more effectively to plant genetic resources
activities when they return to their home countries. Not only does the fellowship develop in-country capacity to
research urgent problems identified by the Fellows’ home countries, but it also stimulates scientific exchange
between researchers in developed and developing countries and builds lasting linkages between the home and the
host institutes and countries.
Research
results emerging from the fellowships are often presented at international conferences and documented in
scientific journals. Equally important is the contribution of the Fellows to increasing the
knowledge base on plant genetic resource science, crucial to human welfare, now and for the future.
Vavilov-Frankel
Fellowship for 2006
Achille Ephrem Assobadjo of University of Abomey-Calavi,
Republic of Benin to carry out a study entitled "Developing
conservation and domestication strategies for baobab (Adansonia
digitata L.) in traditional agroforestry systems of West Africa".
The work will be carried out at the Laboratory of Tropical and
Subtropical Agriculture and Ethnobotany, Faculty of Biosciences
Engineering, University of Ghent, Belgium, under the supervision of
Prof Dr. Ir. Patrick Van Damme.
This Fellowship is made with the support of Pioneer
Hi-Bred International, Inc., United States.
Click here for press release
Vavilov-Frankel
Fellowships for 2005
Narayandas
Laxminarayan Mantri of the Marathwada Agricultural
University, Parbhani, India to carry out a study entitled "The
analysis of stress related genes of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
using microarrays".
The work is being carried out at the Royal
Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University, Biotechnology
and Environmental Biology, School of Applied Sciences, Bundoora,
Victoria, Australia, under the supervision of Dr Eddie Pang.
This
Fellowship is supported by the Grains Research and Development
Corporation (GRDC), Australia.
Gideon Mwai of Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya to carry
out a study entitled "Diversity, Nutritional Value, Alkaloid Content
and Organoleptic Quality of Vegetable Nightshades (Solanum
section Solanum)". The
work is being carried out at the
Botanical and Experimental Garden and Laboratory of Plant Cell
Biology, Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands, under the
supervision of Dr Gerard van der Weerden and Prof Dr C Titti Mariani.
This Fellowship is made with the support of Pioneer Hi-Bred
International, Inc.
Click here for press release
Vavilov-Frankel Fellowships for 2004
Tamar Jinjikhadze
of the Academy of Agriculture Science,
Institute of Farming, PGR Center, Tbilisi, Georgia to carry out
a study entitled "Rust (Puccinia spp.) resistance and
associated molecular diversity of endemic Georgian
Triticum
timopheevii plant genetic
resources".
The work is being carried out at the
Plant Breeding Institute, University of Sydney, Australia, under the
supervision of Prof Peter Sharp.
This
Fellowship is supported by the Grains Research
and Development Corporation (GRDC), Australia.
Orou Gandé Gaoué of the Laboratoire d’Ecologie Appliquée,
Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Universite d’Abomey - Calavi,
Benin to carry out a study entitled "Impact of bark and foliage
harvesting by indigenous people on genetic diversity of Khaya
spp. in Benin, West Africa".
The work is being carried out at the
Department of Botany, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, USA,
under the supervision of Dr Tamara Ticktin. This Fellowship is made with the
support of Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
Click here for
press release
Vavilov-Frankel
Fellowships for 2003
Dr Parvin Salehi
Shanjani of the Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Iran to carry out a study entitled "Analysis of genetic diversity and
gene flow of Oriental Beech (Fagus Orientalis Lipsky)
populations as the basis for development of silvicultural and gene
conservation strategy in Iran". The work is being undertaken at the
Plant Genetics Institute, National Research Council, Florence, Italy,
under the supervision of Dr Giovanni G Vendramin.
Dr Ahu Altinkut
Uncuoglu of the Scientific and Technical
Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) Research Institute for Genetic Engineering
and Biotechnology (RIGEB), Plant Biotechnology Laboratory, Turkey to
carry out a study entitled “Structural and functional genomics of
drought resistance in the progenitors of wheat and barley
for crop improvement". The
work is being undertaken at the University of Haifa, Israel,
under the supervision of Prof Dr Eviatar Nevo.
Click here for press release
Vavilov-Frankel Fellowships for 2002
Mr Sunday Adesola Ajayi of the Obafemi Awolowo University,
Nigeria to carry out a study entitled "Sexual Identification, Seed
Handling and Cryostorage of Fluted Pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis Hook.
F.)". The work is being undertaken at the Plant Cell Biology Research
Unit, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Natal,
South Africa under the supervision of Professor Patricia Berjak.
Mr Kirit K Patel of the Society for Research and Initiatives
for Sustainable Technologies and Institutions (SRISTI), India to carry
out a study entitled "Breaking the Nexus Between Poverty and
Agrobiodiversity: Institutional and Policy Changes for Supporting
Farmer-led Participatory Crop Improvement and Conservation". The work is
being undertaken at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology,
University of Guelph, Canada, under the supervision of Professor Sally
Humphries.
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