CAFSD mentor is ambassador of int’l org

An assistant professor of the MMSU College of Agriculture, Food and Sustainable Development (CAFSD) has been selected as ambassador of an international professional society devoted to the advancement of plant sciences. 

 

Prof. Peter James Icalia Gann is among the few graduate students and early-career professionals from around the world who were selected as ambassadors of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) for two years. 

 

A grantee of the Fulbright-Commission on Higher Education (CHED) scholarship program, Gann is currently taking up a doctoral degree in cell and molecular biology at the University of Arkansas (U of A) in the United States since 2018. 

 

Prior to becoming an ASPB ambassador, he was nominated by his two mentors in the U of A and prepared the necessary documents for evaluation. He was then selected by the organization based on his performance and potentials as leader in the field of plant biology. 

 

As an ambassador, Gann enjoys free participation in the ASPB conferences and funding grants for his research projects, and represents the organization in various activities. 

 

Currently, he works with professors Vibha Srivastava and Paul Allen Counce from U of A’s Bumpers College's Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences, and retired professor Betty Martin from the university’s Institute of Nanoscience and Engineering in the College of Engineering. 

 

The CAFSD mentor embarks on a research about the starch biosynthetic process in rice. He is now analyzing its gene function and is controlling it through gene editing to improve rice grain quality.

 

Last January, he presented a portion of his research work during the U of A’s three-minute thesis competition and won first place in the interdisciplinary category.  

 

Founded in 1924, the ASPB advances the growth and development of plant biology, encourages and publishes research, and promotes interests, growth and education of plant scientists. – Daniel P. Tapaoan, Jr. (StratCom)

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