JR Biotek-Plant Cell Atlas (PCA) Africa PhD Scholars Mentoring Program
Mentoring a new cadre of African crop scientists and global research leaders
The JR Biotek-PCA Africa PhD Scholars Mentoring Program aims to provide high-quality personalized mentoring to support the research career progression of outstanding PhD researchers involved in crop agricultural research in African universities. The program is designed to complement existing academic efforts by providing new perspectives and avenues for selected mentees to refine, develop and conduct high-quality research that generates meaningful outcomes aimed at addressing Africa’s challenges in line with the Sustainable Development Goals 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 4 (Quality Education) and 13 (Climate Action). The world class research training and mentoring will be a major boost to personal and professional development of the scholars, as well as provide them with unique opportunities for research capacity development, knowledge transfer, and equitable partnerships with scientists at world leading research institutions across the globe.
The Inaugural Ceremony (8th JUNE 2022)
We are excited to officially launch the inaugural JR Biotek-PCA Mentoring Program through a virtual opening ceremony taking place on 8th June 2022. The event will include a keynote delivered by Dr Nicola Patron (a research leader in synthetic biology at the Earlham Institute, United Kingdom), followed by presentations by Dr Seung Yon (Sue) Rhee (a leading plant scientist at the Carnegie Institution for Plant Science, Stanford University, USA), and Dr Carol Ibe (plant scientist at the John Innes Centre, United Kingdom and founder of JR Biotek Foundation, USA). The ceremony will also include panel discussion sessions by distinguished scientists from leading research institutions in Africa, Europe and USA, followed by a stimulating Q&A session and networking.
SPEAKERS
Dr. Nicola Patron
Principal Investigator, Plant Molecular and Synthetic Biology, Earlham Institute, UK
Dr. Seung Yon (Sue) Rhee
Senior Staff Member, Plant Biology Department, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, USA
Dr. Carol N. Ibe
Plant Scientist (John Innes Centre, UK); Founder & President of JR Biotek Foundation, USA
Meet the 2022 inaugural class of JR Biotek-Plant Cell Atlas
global mentoring program
Joan Kimutai
Ph.D. student in Plant Breeding, University of Ghana, Ghana
Velma Okaron
Ph.D. student in Plant Breeding, Makerere University, Uganda
Benjamin Narh-Madey
MPhil Student in Genetics and Plant Breeding, University of Ghana, Ghana
Vincent Opuku
Ph.D. student in Crop Science (Plant Physiology), University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Firezer Girma
Ph.D. student in Plant breeding, Jimma University, Ethiopia
Olubukola Lawal
Ph.D. student in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria
Idris Adejumobi
Ph.D. student in Plant Science, University of Kisangani, DR Congo
Nii-Ayi Ankrah
Ph.D. student in Cytogenetics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Ghana
Lami Jinatu
Ph.D. student in Entomology, University of Ghana, Ghana
Tokunbo Gbadeyan
Ph.D. student in Plant Science (Pathology), Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria
Matilda Mdyetseni
Ph.D. student in Crop and Soil Science (Pathology), Luanar-Bunda Compass, Malawi
Rukiya Danful
Ph.D. student in Plant breeding, University of Ghana
Marie Cece
Ph.D. student in Plant Science, University Joseph KI-ZERBO, Burkina Faso
Doris Mensah
Ph.D. student in Plant Pathology, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Anthony Mabele
Ph.D. student in Molecular Plant Virology, Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya.
MEET OUR 2022 MENTORS
Our mentors are research experts at leading research institutions across the globe. They are from a diverse research background and are committed to support a cadre of African crop agricultural scientists and future global leaders.
Dr. Damaris Odeny
Cluster Leader - Genomics, Pre-breeding & Bioinformatics, ICRISAT, Nairobi, Kenya
Dr. Seung Yon (Sue) Rhee
Senior Staff Member, Plant Biology Department, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, USA
Dr. Cosmos Magorokosho
Maize Breeding and Seed Systems consultancy, Zimbabwe
Prof. Marisa Otegui
Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
Dr. Michelle Facette
Assistant Professor, Biology Department, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA
Dr. Ruth N. Prempeh
Senior Research Scientist & Head of Molecular Biology Section, CSIR-Crops Research Institute, Ghana
Dr. Samuel Leiboff
Assistant Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, USA
Nicole Choquette
Crop Science Department, Plant Breeding Consortium, North Carolina State University, USA
Prof. Beatrice Were
Associate Professor of Genetics, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Eldoret, Kenya
Dr. Flavia Bossi
Senior Research Associate, Plant Biology, Carnegie Institution, Stanford, USA
Dr. Jales Fonseca
Genetics & Plant Breeding Texas A&M University, Texas, USA
Prof. Marian Quain
Chief Research Scientist at CSIR-Crops Research Institute and Associate Professor, CSIR College of Science & Tech, Ghana
Dr. Karine Prado
Senior Research Associate, Plant Biology/Global Ecology Carnegie Institute for Science, Stanford, USA
Dr. Sibongile Mafu
Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
Dr. James Mickley
Hebarium Curator, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon University, USA
Dr. Devang Mehta
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, KU Leuven, Belgium
Dr. Suryatapa Ghosh Jha
Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology, W. M. Keck Science Department, Claremont Colleges, Southern California, USA
Dr. Rose Marks
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, USA
Dr. Oluwaseyi Shorinola
Plant genetics, BASF Belgium
Dr. Chloé Orland
Aquatic ecology University of California-USA
Dr. Margaret Frank
Assistant Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science Plant Biology Section, Cornell University, USA
Prof. Julia Sibiya
Associate Professor of Plant Breeding, SAEES, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Dr. Tim Kloppe
Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, USA
Dr. Jason Thomas
Postdoctoral Fellow, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, USA
Dr. Cathrine Ziyomo
BecA-International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Nairobi, Kenya
Prof. Dean Hesterberg
Research Scientist & Soil Science Advisor, LNLS, Brazilian Center for Research in Energy and Materials, Brazil
Anna Dye
Plant and Microbial Biology, North Carolina State University, USA
Prof. Sushma Naithani
Associate Professor Senior Research, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, USA
Dr. Joanna Feehan
Postdoctoral Fellow, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, USA
Dr. Dinakaran Elango
Postdoctoral research scientist , Department of Agronomy
The Organising Team
Opeoluwa Oyewole
PhD Scholar, University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA
Velma Okaron
PhD Scholar, Makerere University, Uganda (and JR Biotek Alumna)
Ayomide Olukerede
PhD Scholar, John Innes Centre, UK
Elena Lazarus
Scientific Coordinator, Rhee Lab, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, USA
Important Dates
Thursday
2nd June 2022
Mentor training at
2.30 pm
BST
Wednesday
8th June 2022
Official launch & opening ceremony at
2.30 pm
BST
Week
13th June 2022
One-on-One mentoring commences
30th November 2022
Official closing event
About the PCA
The PCA (Plant Cell Atlas) initiative is a community resource that comprehensively describes the state of various plant cell types and integrates high-resolution location information of nucleic acids, proteins, and metabolites within plant cells. The PCA network offers a wide range of skills and resources in imaging, proteomics, genomics, nanotechnology, and data science, and we are pleased to work together to support the career development and advancement of exceptional early-career crop scientists across Africa.
About JR Biotek
JR Biotek Foundation is a United States non-profit (501c3) organization that is advancing bioscience education, research, and innovation for Africa’s sustainable development. We utilize a grassroot, bottom-up approach to upskill early-career agricultural scientists in African nations, equipping them with relevant skillset to solve pressing local challenges, particularly, food and nutrition insecurity. Our goal is to bridge the chronic scientific knowledge and skills gaps that are hampering the application of modern biotechnologies for sustainable food production. To date, we have collaborated with the University of Cambridge (UK) and universities and research institutions in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and Benin Republic, and mobilized research experts from leading global research institutions to deliver world-class training aimed at strengthening local research capacity. These programs are having a far-reaching impact across 20+ African countries.
