Xiaochun Sun is a Senior Scientist at BASF specializing in quantitative and statistical genetics, genomic selection, and plant-breeding decision support. He leads scientific research and implementation for genomic breeding in global cotton and soybean programs, including predictive-model development, breeding simulations, and tools supporting parent, cross, and progeny-selection decisions. Before joining BASF, he developed a genomic breeding pipeline for global corn programs at Dow AgroSciences. He earned a Ph.D. in Statistical Genetics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, an M.S. in Molecular Genetics from Kansas State University, and bachelor’s degrees in Agronomy and Computer Science and Technology from Zhejiang University, China.

Muhammad Zubair is a distinguished Principal Scientist and Plant Breeder based at the Regional Agricultural Research Institute (RARI) in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. With over 15 years of dedicated public service in agricultural research, he specializes in genetic improvement, hybridization, and the development of high-yielding, climate-resilient crop cultivars.

Throughout his career, Muhammad has built an extensive portfolio across multiple key crops—including wheat, cotton, guar, sorghum, millet, and maize—driven by strategic government appointments and well-earned promotions. His technical expertise spans advanced breeding methodologies, germplasm characterization, and sophisticated statistical modeling, such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and genotype-environment interaction (GEI) studies.

A prolific researcher, Muhammad has co-contributed to the release of several impactful crop varieties, including the high-quality wheat variety Aas-11, the drought-tolerant cotton BH-184, and multiple high-yielding guar varieties like BR-21 and BR-2022. His scientific contributions are widely documented, with numerous peer-reviewed publications focused on sustainable agronomic practices and stress tolerance screening. He holds both an MSc and a BSc in Plant Breeding & Genetics from the prestigious University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.

Dr. Ranjana Bhattacharjee is a Senior Scientist – Molecular Breeder at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture based in Ibadan, Nigeria. She is a reputed plant breeder who has experience working in two CGIAR institutes (ICRISAT, Patancheru, India; IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria), both based in the developing world. She is the recipient of the Illumina Greater Good Initiative award in 2022. She is the Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator of several projects funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, National Science Foundation, BBSRC-GCRF, USAID/USDA, World Cocoa Foundation, Swedish Government, European Union, among others. Her research objective is to utilize interdisciplinary knowledge and background in plant breeding, molecular biology, statistical genetics and computing skills to develop efficient and effective breeding platforms for crop improvement. Her experience encompasses conventional plant breeding and a wide range of state-of-the-art molecular biology techniques and advanced knowledge of biostatistics and bioinformatics, including cereals, legumes and clonally propagated crops. Some of her research contributions are the development of core collection in pearl millet, cassava and yam collections using both morphological and molecular data; assessment of genetic diversity and population structure in germplasm collections of yam, taro, cacao and other crops using advanced genotyping techniques such as GBS, DArTseq, etc.; whole-genome sequencing and re-sequencing of different Dioscorea spp.; linkage mapping and QTL analysis, and GWAS for targeted traits; application of marker-assisted selection and genomic selection in targeted crops.

Dr. Bhattacharjee has supervised more than 60 students (Undergraduates, Masters and PhDs) and interns in the area of Genetics & Plant Breeding, application of molecular techniques to aid crop improvement, statistical and bioinformatics methods. She is currently an adjunct lecturer for the Masters students of Pan African University, Life and Earth Sciences Institute (PAULESI) and is a resource person for ‘Hands-on Training in Molecular Biology Techniques’ at Bioscience Center, IITA. She has delivered impactful presentations on conventional plant breeding and agricultural strategies across developing countries with multiple challenges. She serves as a reviewer of proposals for TWAS applications and is in the editorial board of many Thomson-Indexed journals. She has over 100 published articles and more than 150 presentations in national, regional and international conferences. She served as an organizing committee member of several national, regional and international conferences.

Dr. Carlos Arbizu is an Agricultural Engineer from the National Agrarian University La Molina (UNALM, Peru). As an undergraduate student, he determined the genetic diversity of a local squash called “loche” using SSR markers. He holds a PhD in Plant Breeding and Plant Genetics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA). During his postgraduate studies, he inferred the molecular and morphological phylogeny of the carrot genus (Daucus) using NGS with multivariate analysis. This research resulted in five publications in peer-reviewed journals. He also has 15 years of professional experience in public and private organizations, both nationally and internationally. He has over 60 publications in peer-reviewed journals (Scopus). Furthermore, along with other colleagues, he obtained research grants totaling USD 1.4 million. He currently holds a Professorship at the National University Toribio Rodríguez de Mendoza of Amazonas (Peru). His research areas are: (i) plant and animal genomics, (ii) phylogenomics, (iii) phenonomics, and (iv) quantitative genetics. During his free time, he likes to play with his children, go hiking in the mountains, play soccer, read, and cook and eat (mainly beef or fish).

Dr. Cynthia Aghogho is a plant breeder and quantitative geneticist currently serving as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences at Auburn University. Her research integrates quantitative genetics, genomics, phenomics, predictive statistical modeling, and simulation-based approaches to optimize breeding decisions across diverse crops and production systems.

At Auburn University, her research includes cereal–legume intercropping systems, particularly oat–pea mixtures, where she explores genomic prediction, sparse multi-environment testing, partner selection, and high-throughput phenotyping to develop more efficient breeding strategies. Her work also extends to forage and cover crops, including crimson and Kura clover.

Prior to joining Auburn University, Dr. Aghogho spent more than a decade at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Nigeria, contributing to cassava genetic improvement and multidisciplinary research connecting quantitative genetics and genomics with agronomic performance, food-product quality, and consumer preferences.

Beyond research, Dr. Aghogho is passionate about mentorship and strengthening agricultural research capacity. She contributes to agricultural training and capacity-building initiatives, including instruction in sustainable vegetable production through Leverage Fresh Limited.

Roberto Fritsche Neto is an Assistant Professor of Vegetable Molecular Breeding in the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University. He holds a B.S. in Agronomy from the Federal University of Pelotas, an M.S. in Genetics and Plant Breeding from the University of São Paulo, and a Ph.D. in Genetics and Breeding from the Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil.

Before joining NC State, he served as an Assistant Professor at the University of São Paulo and the Federal University of Viçosa, Senior Scientist in Quantitative Genetics and Biometrics at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and Assistant Professor of Quantitative Genetics at LSU AgCenter. He has also been a visiting scientist at the University of Minnesota, Cornell University, and the University of Queensland.

His research focuses on modern plant breeding, quantitative genetics, genomic selection, prediction-based breeding, and data-driven breeding strategies. His work integrates molecular markers, genomics, phenomics, environmental data, and advanced statistical and simulation approaches to optimize breeding programs and develop resilient, high-performing vegetable germplasm.