Instructors

Ag Biotech and Seed Systems and Seed Systems FAQ

Charlie Block ccblock@iastate.edu

With expertise in seed health, plant pathology, and seed-borne plant pathogens, Charles Block serves as seed health testing coordinator at ISU’s Seed Science Center. He has nearly 40 years of experience in testing seeds for plant pathogens and in research on seed-borne and seed-transmitted diseases. He is co-coordinator of the National Seed Health System (NSHS), a program authorized by USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and administered by Iowa State to accredit both private and public entities to perform activities needed to support the issuance of federal phytosanitary certificates for the international movement of seeds. The NSHS’ laboratory-based phytosanitary field inspections and seed health testing methods examine for plant pathogens in plants grown to produce seeds in fields, nurseries, or greenhouses. He earned his Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Plant Pathology from Iowa State, and his B.Sc. in Chemistry from Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa.

Rex Dunham dunhara@auburn.edu

Rex Dunham is the Butler-Cunningham eminent scholar in agriculture and environmental science in the School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences at Auburn University in Alabama. He conducts research on quantitative genetics, molecular genetics, genomics, biotechnology, genetic engineering, gene editing, population genetics, xenogenesis, and reproduction. His primary research interest is the genetic improvement of catfish, including selective breeding, hybridization, gene transfer, gene mapping and genomics, and reproductive physiology. He earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Fisheries and Allied Aquacultures from Auburn University. His B.Sc. degree in Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution is from the University of Illinois.

Susana Goggi susana@iastate.edu

Susana Goggi is a world-recognized expert in corn and soybean seed physiology, reaching more than 1,300 stakeholders in the last three years alone with the seed physiology services, training, and advice she provides to seed industries worldwide. A professor in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State, she investigates outcrossing and coexistence of transgenic and non-transgenic corn, and develops statistical and pollen flow prediction models using meteorological, biological, and econometric approaches. She earned her Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Agronomy/Seed Science from Mississippi State University. Her B.Sc. in Agronomic Engineering is from the Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina.

Adelaida Harries adelaida.harries@gmail.com

Before joining the Seed Science Center as a scientist, Adelaida Harries led the Argentine National Seed Institute’s policymaking in the areas of biosafety, plant variety protection, seed certification and testing, variety release, seed import and export, and phytosanitary issues. At the SSC, she served as co-leader of projects that harmonized seed policies and regulations in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the Asia-Pacific region. She has extensive experience in seed policies and regulations related to seed certification, plant breeders’ rights, and quality assurance, which she now applies as co-owner of C&H, an independent consulting firm. A Fulbright scholar, she received her B.Sc. in Agronomy and Engineering from the Universidad de Morón in Argentina.

Greg Jaffe gjaffe@cspinet.org

Gregory Jaffe is the biotechnology project director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest. He is a recognized international expert on agricultural biotechnology and biosafety who has worked extensively in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia on biosafety regulatory issues, providing expert technical assistance and capacity-building trainings. He is an expert on international agreements and guidance that relate to agricultural biotechnology and is knowledgeable about the details of individual country biosafety regulatory systems in North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. He has carried out legal reviews and analyses of country laws and regulations and has facilitated government meetings convened to draft biosafety legal documents. He earned his Juris Doctor degree (cum laude) from the Harvard Law School, and his BA in Biology and Government (with high honors) from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.

Dirk Maier dmaier@iastate.edu

Dirk Maier is a professor of grain and feed operations and processing in support of the global food system at Iowa State’sDepartment of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering. He is also the post-harvest engineer responsible for international outreach of the Iowa Grain Quality Initiative. He is an expert in post-harvest engineering and value-added processing of agricultural crops and biological products, including ecosystem modeling, stored products protection (IPM, fumigation), alternative crop storage systems, dehydration of biological products, bulk material (grain, feed) handling and segregation (identity preservation), facilities design (including safety, entrapment rescue) and simulation, and feed manufacturing. He also directs the Consortium for Innovation in Post-Harvest Loss and Food Waste Reduction. He received his Ph.D., M.Sc., and B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering from Michigan State University.

Rashmi Nair rashmisnairstl@gmail.com

RashmiNair, a Board-certified toxicologist, is an expert in safety assessment and the development of science-based regulatory paradigms for the assessment of agricultural biotech products. An independent consultant, Dr.Nair’s assignments focus on promoting and enabling the adoption of innovative agricultural technologies in emerging markets. She has extensive experience in developing safety data and in gaining global regulatory approvals for agricultural chemical and biotech-derived products. She holds a Ph.D. in Biochemical Toxicology from the University of Mississippi and an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Dianah Ngonyama drn@iastate.edu

DianahNgonyama is Iowa State’s associate director of research administration and research integrity officer. She is also an affiliate faculty member of the Department of Animal Science and theSeed Science Center. She has more than 25 years of experience in the private sector seed industry, particularly in the areas of product development, stewardship, and regulatory policy and compliance. Her professional experience includes working with regulatory agencies, academics, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region on biotech applications. She holds a Ph.D. in Corn Quality Traitsfrom theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison, an M.B.A. from Maryville University in St. Louis, an M.Sc. in Animal and Forage Sciences from theUniversity of Reading in the UK, and a B.Sc.in Agriculture(with honors)from theUniversity of Zimbabwe.

James Reecy jreecy@iastate.edu

James Reecy is associate vice-president for research at Iowa State, overseeing the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration and internal funding programs. A professor in the Department of Animal Science, he also serves as database coordinator for NRSP-8, the National Animal Genome Research Support Program, leading national efforts to improve computational resources available for genomics research on livestock species. He has worked on problems in ruminant nutrition, skeletal muscle growth and development, embryonic heart development, beef and mouse molecular and quantitative genetics, and livestock bioinformatics. His lab has worked on beef cattle molecular genetics with a focus on improving the nutrient content of beef and health of cattle, as well as the development of database resources to facilitate genomics research. He holds a Ph.D. in Animal Science from Purdue University in Indiana, an M.Sc. in Animal Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and a B.Sc. in Animal Science from South Dakota State University.

Lulu Rodriguez lulurod@iastate.edu

Lulu Rodriguez is global programs lead at Iowa State’s Seed Science Center in which capacity she leads the preparation of interdisciplinary funding and grant proposals to support regional and national seed systems and programs. She oversees and manages funded international projects and partnerships. She has 25 years of experience in science and risk communication education, research, and outreach initiatives in support of national and international development efforts. She studies the communication of risks related to scientific and technological breakthroughs, investigating people’s basic mental models of hazard, as well as public understanding and acceptance of innovations that cause controversies or may be perceived as risky. She earned her Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her master’s degree in Communication from Cornell University, and her B.Sc. in Development Communication from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños.

Stephen Smith stephen.smith@mchsi.com

An affiliate professor in the Department of Agronomy and the Seed Science Center, Stephen Smith has technical-scientific background on the characterization of germplasm, use of molecular markers, intellectual property protection, and genetic gain. He examines genetic diversity, issues related to germplasm access and benefit-sharing, use of morphological and molecular data for variety identification, pedigree analysis of crop varieties, and genetic gain in maize. He also conducts economics-based analyses of intellectual property protection systems. Before joining Iowa State, he served as Technical Lead for DuPont-Pioneer on intellectual property protection, characterization of cultivated varieties, and research on intellectual property protection. He received his Ph.D. in Taxonomy and Evolution of Maize and his M.Sc. in Conservation and Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources from the University of Birmingham in the UK, and his B.Sc. in Plant Sciences from the Wye College, University of London.

Tyler Tunning ttunning@iastate.edu

Tyler Tunning, a registered genetic technologist, is in charge of testing for biotech traits in the Seed Science Center’s Seed Lab. Tunning is a member of the Association of Official Seed Analysts (AOSA), the organization of state, federal, and university laboratories in the U.S. and Canada dedicated to education and research on seed testing, ensuring that testing procedures are standardized between analysts and between laboratories. He is also a full-fledged member of the Society of Commercial Seed Technologists (SCST), an organization of professional seed technologists that oversees the way private and company seed laboratories across the U.S. conduct seed testing. Tunning earned his B.Sc. in Horticultural Science and his M.Sc. in Seed Technology and Business from Iowa State.

Kan Wang kanwang@iastate.edu

Kan Wang is a global professor of biotechnology in the Department of Agronomy, and co-director of the Crop Bioengineering Center at Iowa State. Elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for the advances she scored in genetic engineering in plants using Agrobacterium tumefaciens, she is recognized as an international leading light on plant biotechnology. She explores novel plant genetic transformation and genome editing technologies and investigates the functional roles of Agrobacterium non-coding RNAs.In 2007, she and her team became the first scientists to use nanotechnology to penetrate rigid plant cell walls and deliver DNA and chemicals with precise control. Her Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees in Plant Molecular Biology are from the University of Ghent in Belgium. She earned her B.Sc. in BiochemistryfromFudan University in China.

Patricia Zambrano p.zambrano@cgiar.org

Patricia Zambrano is the senior program manager at the International Food Policy Research Institute. In that role, she currently manages the rapid economic assessment of GM crops for a project that covers five African countries, and coordinates the research activities of lead local economists, other stakeholders, and IFPRI staff. She has over 20 years of experience analyzing the impact of genetically modified crops in developing economies, particularly among women and marginal groups, having conducted biosafety research in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, South Africa, the Philippines, Pakistan, Bolivia, Colombia, and Honduras. She holds an M.Sc. in Economics from the University of California-Davis and received her B.Sc. in Economics from the Universidad de Los AndesinBogotá, Colombia.

José Falck-Zepeda j.falck-zepeda@cgiar.org

José Falck-Zepeda is a senior research fellow at the Environment and Production Technology Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute. He is an international expert on the economic analysis of regulations, technology impact assessment, econometric and statistical analysis of production and technology adoption. He was a member of the Committee commissioned by the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine that examined experiences with and the prospects for genetically engineered crops. He has a Ph.D. and an M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from Auburn University in Alabama, B.Sc. in Animal Science from Texas A&M University, and an Agronomy degree from the Pan-American Agricultural School (Zamorano University).

The following serve on the project’s management unit:

Manjit K. Misra
Director, Seed Science Center
Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Iowa State University
mkmisra@iastate.edu

Judith Chambers
Director, Program on Biosafety Systems
International Food Policy Research Institute
J.Chambers@cgiar.org

Marc Cool
Global Seed Policy Leader
Corteva Agriscience™
marc.cool@corteva.com

Adelaida Harries
Co-owner and Founder, C&H Consulting
adelaida.harries@gmail.com

Cynthia Hicks
Communication Specialist, Seed Science Center
Iowa State University
cghicks@iastate.edu

Neil Hoffman
Scientific Advisor, Office of the Deputy Administrator in Biotechnology Regulatory Services
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
U.S. Department of Agriculture
neil.e.hoffman@usda.gov

Dirk Maier
Director, Consortium for Innovation in Post-Harvest Loss and Food Waste Reduction
Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Iowa State University
dmaier@iastate.edu

James Reecy
Associate Vice President for Research
Professor, Department of Animal Science
Iowa State University
jreecy@iastate.edu

Lulu Rodriguez
Global Programs Lead, Seed Science Center
Iowa State University
lulurod@iastate.edu