CGIAR Research Program Directors

Prior to joining CGIAR, Dr Noel Ellis was a professor in crop genetics and phenotype biology and the leader of the Genome Diversity Research Theme at the Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences (IBERS) at Aberystwyth University in the U.K.

Born in Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland, Noel pursued his undergraduate studies at the University of Edinburgh, and earned his BSc degree with First Class Honors in Biological Sciences in 1976. Guided by EM Southern and others in the Mammalian Genome Unit, he was awarded a PhD (also from Edinburgh) in 1979 for his thesis titled “Examination of the variation of the structure of satellite DNAs”.

Noel has held several appointments with increasing leadership responsibilities from 1979 until 2011, including his time at the John Innes Center in Norwich and most recently with IBERS in Aberystwyth.

The main focus of his research in recent years has been on the evolution and diversification of legumes at the genomic and phenotypic levels. His research has also included the molecular characterization of two of Mendel’s genes.

Dr Ellis has published over 160 research papers and book chapters. He is also the recipient of 17 competitive grants, including the multinational EU FP6 project ‘Grain Legumes’ and has presented over 60 professional talks and lectures.

His personal interests range from earth to sky; from pottery, to walking, to natural history and astronomy.