WHO WE ARE
We are a team of developers, molecular breeders, statisticians, bioinformaticists and breeders with a rich experience in managing data and applying genomic technologies to improve breeding. We are the first large-scale public-sector effort with the goal to systematically apply high-density genotypic information to the breeding of staple crops in the developing world. Initially the focus is on rice, wheat, maize, sorghum and chickpea in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The genomic data management systems will include databases, imputation systems, and decision support tools for plant breeders.
OUR MISSION
To build open-source genomic data management and analysis tools to enable breeders to implement genomic and marker-assisted selection as part of their routine breeding programs.
OUR VISION
To transform breeding by connecting diverse data with precision breeding tools to advance yields and adaptation to local growing conditions, bringing global communities closer to a sustainable, reliable food supply.
TEAMS
APPLICATION TEAM
Liz Jones Project Director
Cornell University
Yanxin Star Gao Breeding Application Specialist
Cornell University
Yaw Nti-Addae Lead Programmer
Cornell University
Deb Weigand Software Quality Assurance/ Support
Cornell University
Kate Dreher Germplasm Data Coordinator
CIMMYT
Claudio C. Ayala-Hernandez Data Management Coordinator
CIMMYT
Rosemary Shrestha Germplasm Data Coordinator
CIMMYT
Umesh Rosyara Genomics Breeding Scientist, Global Wheat Program
CIMMYT
Xuecai Zhang Maize Genomic Selection Breeder, Global Maize Program
CIMMYT
Abhishek Rathore Theme Leader-Statistics, Bioinformatics and Data Management
ICRISAT
Himabindu Kudapa Scientist, Genomics and Molecular Breeding
ICRISAT
Manish Roorkiwal Scientist -Genomics and Molecular Breeding
ICRISAT
Anilkumar Vemula Manager-Data Curators
ICRISAT
Roma Rani Das Manager-Data Curators
ICRISAT
Jeffrey Detras Specialist – Bioinformatics
IRRI
Faustino DELGADO CAMACHO Genotypic Data Curator
CIMMYT
DEVELOPMENT TEAM
Yaw Nti-Addae Lead Programmer
Cornell University/BTI
Kevin Palis Data Architect
Cornell University/BTI
Joshua Lamos-Sweeney
Software Developer
Cornell University/BTI
Vishnu Govindaraj Software developer
BTI
Dave Matthews Scientific Programmer
Cornell University/BTI
Victor Jun Ulat Applied Bioinformatics Specialist
CIMMYT
Prasad Bajaj Manager-Computational Biology
ICRISAT
Chaitanya Sarma Scientific Officer
ICRISAT
Selvanayagam Sivasubramani Senior Scientific Officer
ICRISAT
Angel Raquel Software Developer
Cornell University/BTI
Viana Carla Calaminos Specialist – Information Systems
IRRI
Venice Margarette Juanillas Specialist – Information Systems
IRRI
SYSTEM ADMINISTRATION TEAM
Roy Lawrence Petrie DevOps Engineer
Cornell University/BTI
Victor Jun Ulat Applied Bioinformatics Specialist
CIMMYT
Prasad Bajaj Manager-Computational Biology
ICRISAT
Rolando Santos Jr Specialist – Scientific Computing Support
IRRI
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS AND STEERING TEAMS
(*) Principal Investigators
Susan McCouch*
Cornell University/BTI
Jean-Luc Jannink*
USDA-ARS
Kelly Robbins*
Cornell University/BTI
Lukas Mueller*
Cornell University/BTI
Mark Sorrells*
Cornell University/BTI
Qi Sun*
Cornell University/BTI
Mike Olsen* Trait Pipeline and Upstream Research Coordinator
CIMMYT
Kate Dreher* Germplasm Data Coordinator, Data Management Specialist
CIMMYT
Susanne Dreisigacker* Wheat Molecular Breeding Coordinator, Global Wheat Program
CIMMYT
Sarah Hearne Maize Molecular Geneticist/Pre-breeder, Genetic Resource Program molecular breeder
CIMMYT
Jens Riis-Jacobsen Director of Int. Systems & Information Technology
CIMMYT
Victor Jun Ulat Applied Bioinformatics Specialist
CIMMYT
Juan Burgueño Senior Bioinformatician, Head of Biometrics and Statistics Unit
CIMMYT
Tom Hagen Breeding Software Product Manager
CIMMYT
Rajeev Varshney* Research Program Director – Genetic Gains
ICRISAT
Santosh Deshpande Senior Scientist – Molecular Breeding
ICRISAT
Pradyut Modi Head – Information Systems Unit
ICRISAT
Abhishek Rathore Theme Leader-Statistics, Bioinformatics and Data Management
ICRISAT
Prasad Bajaj Manager-Computational Biology
ICRISAT
Ashok Kumar Principal Scientist
ICRISAT
Pooran Gaur Theme Leader – Crop Improvement Asia Program
ICRISAT
Bharadwaj Chellapilla Principal Scientist
ICRISAT
Ramil Mauleon Scientist II – Bioinformatics
IRRI
Marco Van den Berg Senior Specialist II – Chief Information Officer
IRRI
Marko Karkkainen Lead – Information Management and Software Development
IRRI
Joshua Cobb Scientist II – Irrigated Rice Breeding
IRRI
SCIENTIFIC ADVISERS
MANAGEMENT / ADMINISTRATIVE
Monica Franciscus Administrator
Cornell University
Annapurna Chitikineni Capacity Building and Meeting Coordinator / Senior Manager – Center of Excellence in Genomics
ICRISAT
SPONSOR
COLLABORATORS
STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Integrated genotyping service and support (IGSS) at BecA