On the back of the sequencing of the South African wheat cultivar Kariega and the subsequent cloning of stripe rust resistance gene Yr27, Ms Shannon Derman, project lead at CenGen, is currently on a 10 week scientific visit at KAUST in Saudi Arabia. This incredible opportunity arose from our collaboration with Prof Simon Krattinger and his team at this university, and is testament to them taking their knowledge transfer commitment to their South African research partners seriously.
Whilst there, Shannon aims to learn about the latest advances in wheat genomics, how to utilise the vast amount of resources that are available and how to apply them in our local setup. In addition to the scientific knowledge transfer, she also has the opportunity to work alongside renowned wheat genetics experts, and to make invaluable contacts for future collaborations.
We are extremely excited to learn from Shannon when she returns!
Cover photo: The Centre for Desert Agriculture Krattinger Lab at KAUST, with Prof Krattinger in the middle of the front row and Shannon on the far left.
