Biotic Stress: From Gene to Field

A one day workshop on "Biotic stress: from gene to field" was organized by Egypt Biotechnology Information Center (EBIC)  on December 25, 2013. Held at Misr University for Science and Technology (MUST), Giza, Egypt, it was participated in by  more than 100 scientists, students, and stakeholders. 

Addressing the audience, Professor Mohammed El-Azzazi, President of the university stressed the importance of conducting research and sharing knowledge. "We must cope with a scientific revolution that GM crops have made", he added. Prof. Mohamed El-Saadani, Vice President for Research of the university said, "Students represent the decision makers of the future, they should understand and digest the new technology to solve tomorrow's problems - one of the most important problems will be food shortage, especially with changing climate."

The speakers included Dr. Hala Eissa, Vice Dean of Faculty of Biotechnology, MUST and a member of the team that developed the drought tolerant wheat and fungal resistant wheat in Egypt. She demonstrated the wheat research conducted in Egypt from lab to field, with up to 7 years of field testing. Unfortunately, extended field trials are on hold for political reasons, that hinders the path towards commercializing those plants.

For more details about this workshop, contact Dr. Naglaa Abdallah, Egypt Biotechnology Information Center  Director at nabdallah@e-bic.net.