Joe Tohme

Joe Tohme Joe Tohme received his PhD in Crop Sciences from Michigan State University. He has worked as a plant geneticist at the International Center forTropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia since 1987. He is currently the CIAT Agrobiodiversity Research Director coordinating teams that include the Genetic Resources Unit, the biotechnology, bean, cassava, forage and rice programs. The multidisciplinary teams work in fields as diverse as breeding, plant pathology, entomology, plant physiology, molecular biology, bioinformatics, genetic transformation and seed systems. In addition, Dr. Tohme coordinates the biotechnology activities of HarvestPlus, an international research program that seeks to reduce micronutrient malnutrition by harnessing the powers of agriculture and nutrition research to breed nutrient- dense staple foods. HarvestPlus is co-organized by CIAT and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington, D.C. He is the Co-founder with Dr. Claude Fauquet of the Global Cassava Partnership. Dr. Tohme’s research involves integrating genomicsmolecular- assisted selection with breeding and germplasm conservation activities; setting up gene expression and SNP facilities; and gene discovery for abiotic and nutritional traits.