Dr. Kifah Gharzeddin Visiting Scholar Plant Breeding and Genetics PhD (Tishreen University) kifahg@uwindsor.ca 519-253-3000 Ext 4761 318 Biology Building

Dr. Kifah Gharzeddin is a crop breeder with a focus on sustainably improving crop yields and developing legumes crops with improved resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Joining the University of Windsor in 2024 from Carleton University (Ottawa), Dr. Gharzeddin is involved in the UWindsor regional partnership to advance agricultural research, which includes exciting collaborations with government agencies and agricultural industries within the largest greenhouse cluster in North America.

Dr. Gharzeddin aims to develop climate-resilient crop varieties in southern Ontario, collaborate with large-scale and small-scale farmers for effective breeding and agronomic implementation strategies, expand his chickpea breeding program to multiple environments of Southern Ontario, as well as collaborate with scientific institutions in Canada and abroad on analysing complex environmental stresses related to crop breeding.

To improve crop yields and resistance to the prevalent environmental stresses, Dr. Gharzeddin integrates multiple inputs in his breeding program, including ecological measurements at the crop breeding sites, the selection for more resistant varieties accompanied by plants microbiome profiles, and the application of plant-environment interaction models on the crop breeding cycle.

Dr.Gharzeddin also combines crop breeding with molecular biology and genomics approaches by applying multi-faceted selection methods and statistical analyses to dissect complex agronomic traits, plant environment interactions, and further applications of Genomics Assisted Breeding.

Dr. Gharzeddin is a College Member of the Royal Society of Canada with the goal of augmenting efforts amongst biologists, microbiologists, politicians, and societal networks towards healthy and sustainable production of food staples in the face of climate change. Likewise, he is a Young Affiliate with the UNSECO World Academy of Sciences which aims to install bridges for research and science communication with scientists and societies of developing nations.

 

Courses:

Plant Molecular Biology and Physiology_BIOL4570_Winter 2024