Dr. Reza Mohammadi holds a Ph.D. in genetics and plant breeding and serves as an associate professor at the Dryland Agricultural Research Institute (DARI). With 25 years of experience in wheat breeding, particularly for dryland conditions in Iran, his research primarily focuses on genetic resources in durum and bread wheat. He has led over 100 research projects and has been instrumental in the development of new wheat cultivars. Dr. Mohammadi has authored or co-authored more than 120 publications in peer-reviewed journals and also has experience writing book chapters and editing books.
Dr. Mohammad Reza Jalal Kamali earned his Ph.D. from the University of Western Australia and has 45+ years of experience in wheat breeding. He played a pivotal role in Iran's National Wheat Breeding Program and later contributed to the Global Wheat Program at CIMMYT. His research has led to the release of seven improved wheat cultivars. Dr. Jalal Kamali has co-authored three books, four book chapters, and 70+ peer-reviewed articles. He has been honored with multiple national and international awards and has held significant positions, including president of the Crop Science Society of Iran. Currently he is the Editor-in-Chief of two scientific journals; Seed and Plant (in Persian) and Crop Breeding (in English) as well as editorial board member of three scientific journals.
Dr. Ahmed Amri holds a Ph.D. in genetics and plant breeding from Kansas State University. He has contributed to the release of numerous barley, wheat, and triticale varieties in his tenure at INRA-Morocco. At ICARDA, he has led projects focused on dryland agrobiodiversity, established gene banks, and strengthened pre-breeding efforts in various crops. Dr. Amri has published 97+ peer-reviewed journal articles and has provided extensive training in genetic resources conservation.
Dr. Zakaria Kehel is a senior biometrician and research team leader at ICARDA, with a Ph.D. from the University of Córdoba, Spain. His expertise lies in germplasm enhancement, predictive breeding, and data science. Dr. Kehel has over 15 years of experience in genetic resources conservation and breeding data management and has held key roles at Bayer Crop Science and CIMMYT.
Dr. Behzad Sadeghzadeh earned his Ph.D. from The University of Western Australia and is a research fellow at The University of Melbourne, specializing in crop molecular breeding. With a strong background in breeding for drought resilience and biofortification, he has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers. Dr. Sadeghzadeh has collaborated extensively with international research institutes like ICARDA and CIMMYT and has significant experience in teaching and supervising graduate students.