Melaku A Gedil is a Principal Scientist, molecular geneticist, and molecular breeder at IITA. He has over 20 years of post-PhD work experience participating in cutting-edge research at IITA and other academic and research institutions in the USA. At IITA, he has served as the Head of the Bioscience Center for over 8 years. He obtained his first degree (Plant Sciences) in 1985 from the Addis Abeba University, and his second degree (Agronomy) in 1993 from the Alemaya University of Agriculture, Ethiopia in plant breeding. He received his Ph.D. in Agronomy and Crop Science from Oregon State University in 1999. He has extensive knowledge of the application of molecular markers to the improvement of crops. His current research activities focus on applying functional genomics techniques to develop an efficient and effective molecular breeding program mainly for maize and cassava as well as for soybean, cowpea, and yam. He is particularly interested in introducing cost-effective and high-throughput genotyping techniques that are
feasible in developing countries.
Abebe Menkir holds a BSc in Plant Science, MSc and a PhD in Plant Breeding from Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia), University of Manitoba (Canada), and Kansas State University (USA),
respectively. Before his assignment at IITA as a maize breeder-geneticist in 1996, he worked as a sorghum and finger millet breeder at the Alemaya College of Agriculture and the Institute of Agricultural Research in Ethiopia. His current research emphases at IITA include breeding for high yield potential, resistance to diseases and Striga, drought tolerance, enhanced nutritional quality, and resistance to mycotoxin contamination. He has been the team leader for maize improvement research at IITA since 2001 and collaborates with several scientists working in different disciplines. He works with scientists in
national programs and private seed companies to promote the delivery of improved seeds to farmers. He served as an elected member of the Research Committee of a regional maize network for 8 years where he reviewed project proposals and progress reports and recommended funding to the NARS through the network. He also served as elected coordinator of the IITA multidisciplinary project on maize-grain legume production systems from 1999 to 2001.
