CGIAR Consortium Office hires two new senior science officers

A highly experienced researcher in plant biotechnology, genetics and breeding and a senior economist working on a range of economic and policy issues linked to agricultural development – these are the latest staff to join the CGIAR Consortium Science Team at its headquarters in Montpellier, France.

Dr. Philippe Ellul will take up a post as Senior Science Officer Biotech/Genetic Resources on May 1, 2013. Dr Anita Regmi will join as Senior Science Officer for Policy and Economics on July 15, 2013. Both appointments will strengthen the Science Team in Montpellier as the CGIAR Consortium develops its ambitious research programs into agricultural development.

Both new staff members will be working with the cross-cutting CGIAR Research Programs, helping to drive a dynamic research portfolio aimed at reducing rural poverty and food insecurity, improving health and nutrition and health and ensuring a more sustainable management of natural resources in the developing world.   Biographies of both individuals and summaries of their responsibilities are included below.

Philippe Ellul joins the Consortium Office from NINSAR Agrosciences where he has been Managing Director since 2010.  Philippe has a scientific background in Plant Biotechnology, Genetics and Breeding. As Assistant Professor and Researcher at the Institute of Cellular and Molecular Biology of Plants (a Spanish joint venture between the national research agency CSIC and the University Polytechnic of Valencia) his research focused on the improvement of vegetables by developing salt and drought tolerant plants, by increasing resistance to biotic stresses (bacteria and virus), breeding plants with modified architecture, parthenocarpic or Long Shelf Life fruits. His R&D projects were always performed in collaboration with private seed companies, allowing an early understanding of the research projects based on breeding priorities. In parallel, he was teaching Genetics and Plant Breeding at the UPV, supervising Masters Degree and PhD theses for agricultural engineers from Spain, Colombia, Brazil and Ecuador.

In 2005, Philippe was hired by the Dutch seed company Rijk Zwaan, to set up a biotechnology platform in the south of Spain and to train the new lab’s staff. In collaboration with the breeding and biotech departments in the Netherlands, France and Spain, he was actively involved in the design and application of modern approaches combining genomics, molecular and cellular biology, to improve breeding programs of vegetables. He acquired experience in international R&D collaborations for developing new protocols (DHs, interspecific hybrids, mutants, pre-breeding line selection, HTP genotyping, SNP platforms, etc.) and designing modern laboratories, nurseries and greenhouses for breeding purposes.

In 2010, Philippe moved to Barcelona as Managing Director at Ninsar Agrosciences, a plant biotech company owned by three seed private shareholders: Semillas Fitó (Spain), BHN Seeds (USA) and Gautier Semences (France). Over the last three years, he successfully managed several R&D projects privately funded for improving early flowering time, plant architecture, fruit quality and disease resistances in vegetable and field crops. He also acquired wide experience in multicultural projects, Intellectual Property Rights, licensing agreements and patent portfolio management.

Philippe holds a PhD in Plant Biotechnology from the University Polytechnic of Valencia (Spain). He has 18 years of experience in plant biotech applied to breeding as well as R&D project management for the benefit of public researchers, seed companies, growers and farmers. He is skilled in the management of multidisciplinary teams in a multicultural context, designing adapted budget plans and following up long-term projects to guarantee deliverable outcomes for the benefit of all the project partners and final stakeholders.

As Senior Science Officer for Biotech/Genetic Resources for the CGIAR Consortium, Philippe will work directly with the CGIAR Research Programs on Wheat, Maize, Rice, Grain Legumes, Dryland Cereals, Livestock and Fish, and Genebanks.  He will provide leadership in activities and deliverables that focus on biotechnology, life sciences, molecular breeding, private sector product portfolio and delivery, and will provide strategic advice to the Chief Scientific Officer on a range of issues cutting across the research portfolio.

Anita Regmi joins the Consortium Office from the USDA Food Security and Development Branch, where she is a Senior Economist.  Anita Regmi has a career that spans over 20 years working on a range of economic and policy issues relevant to agricultural development.  From 2009 through March 2012, she served as the Senior Advisor on Global Food Security in USDA’s Office of Chief Scientist (OCS).  In this capacity she oversaw planning and coordination of USDA science and innovation which enhance global food security, including research, extension, education, statistics and economics programs.  She also led USDA science and innovation coordination and planning to support U.S. Government’s Feed the Future Initiative, working with agencies within USDA and across other U.S. Government Departments.

As the Senior Economist with the Food Security and Development Branch at the Economic Research Service (ERS) of USDA, Regmi has led research programs on international food demand; food supply chains; post-harvest food losses; and market access reform issues related to USDA’s bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations. She joined USDA in 1995, starting first with the Foreign Agricultural Service (through1999), where she worked on commodity analysis and government programs designed to promote trade.  She also worked on multilateral trade negotiations and oversaw developing country issues in the lead-up to the WTO Doha negotiations. Prior to working for USDA, she was a Research Associate at Cornell University (1992-1995) where she focused her research on production economics and water quality issues.  Earlier (1989-91), she led a project in Rwanda which examined the role of women in agriculture, and also worked on food security and nutrition surveillance project in the same country.

Regmi grew up in Kathmandu, Nepal.  She received her B.S. in Agriculture in 1984 from Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University in India, and her Master’s and Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota in 1987 and 1990 respectively.

As Senior Science Officer for Policy and Economics for the CGIAR Consortium, Anita will work directly with the CGIAR Research Programs on Dryland Systems, Humid Tropics, Aquatic Agricultural Systems, and Policies, Institutions, and Markets.  She will provide leadership in activities and deliverables that focus on the economics and social science research and for the evolving CGIAR research monitoring and evaluation system, providing strategic advice to the Chief Scientific Officer on a range of issues cutting across the research portfolio.