Borlaug Global Rust Initiative

We are proud to recognize Katharina Jung as a 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Award recipient.

Katharina, a postdoctoral researcher at the Universität Zürich, works with modern and traditional wheat varieties from Asia that carry valuable diversity but remain underused in breeding. Through field trials with CIMMYT and genomic analysis, she is studying how that diversity can help wheat resist yellow rust and adapt to drought. https://bgri.cornell.edu/awards/wit-early-career-award/katharina-jung/

We are proud to recognize Shannon Baker as a 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Award recipient. Shannon uses drone-based phenotyping and data analysis to reveal how wheat varieties respond to drought, disease and other field pressures, helping research teams identify promising lines sooner and advance more resilient wheat. She also leads education and professional development across a national wheat research network, giving students and early-career scientists the chance to contribute directly to major wheat research efforts. Texas A&M AgriLife Research https://bgri.cornell.edu/awards/wit-early-career-award/shannon-baker/

We are proud to recognize Bernice Ngina Waweru as a 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Award recipient.

Bernice is a PhD researcher at the John Innes Centre whose work focuses on the genetic basis of wheat disease resistance. By combining molecular biology, phenotyping, genetics and computational tools, she is helping identify useful variation linked to yellow rust resistance and support the development of more resilient wheat.

Read more about Bernice and her work: https://bgri.cornell.edu/awards/wit-early-career-award/bernice-waweru/

The BGRI community is remembering Kathy Kahn, a scientist, program officer, and partner whose work strengthened the global response to wheat rust diseases and increased sustainable productivity for smallholder wheat farmers. Her legacy lives on in the partnerships she helped strengthen, the scientists she supported, and their ongoing work to protect wheat harvests around the world.

Kathy Kahn: A Legacy of Strengthening Global Wheat Research - BGRI - Borlaug Global Rust Initiative The BGRI community remembers Kathy Kahn, a scientist, program officer and partner whose work strengthened the global response to wheat rust diseases and increased sustainable productivity for smallholder wheat farmers around the globe.

The BGRI is on LinkedIn! Follow our page for updates from across the global wheat research community, including disease surveillance, breeding advances, partnerships, training opportunities, events and stories from scientists working to protect wheat harvests around the world.

Help us grow the page by following and sharing it with colleagues interested in wheat, crop disease research and global food security.

Follow here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/borlaug-global-rust

Researchers around the world are driving critical advances to protect one of the world’s most important food crops from escalating disease threats and production challenges. As part of supporting and recognizing the next generation of scientific leadership, we are proud to announce Shannon Baker, Katharina Jung and Bernice Ngina Waweru as the 2026 recipients of the Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Award.

🔬 Shannon Baker, from Texas A&M AgriLife Research, integrates unoccupied aerial systems, data analytics and classical breeding to accelerate wheat cultivar development for drought-prone and irrigated production systems.

🌾 Katharina Jung, from the Universität Zürich, studies the genetic basis of yellow rust resistance and drought adaptation in bread wheat, with a focus on modern and traditional wheat varieties from Asia.

🧬 Bernice Ngina Waweru, from the John Innes Centre, uses molecular biology, high-resolution phenotyping, genetics and computational approaches to uncover the genetic basis of wheat disease resistance.

Together, their work reflects the innovation, collaboration and leadership needed to strengthen wheat against disease and support farmers facing growing pressure in the field.

Please join us in congratulating Shannon, Katharina and Bernice!

BGRI Honors Early-Career Scientists Advancing Wheat Research Three early-career scientists advancing wheat phenotyping, genetic diversity and disease-resistance genomics have been named recipients of the 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Awards.

We are excited to join the global wheat community in Italy for the 4th International Wheat Congress.

On Sunday, May 24, we will convene a half-day workshop focused on the progress, partnerships, and priorities shaping the next phase of global wheat health. The program will bring together researchers, breeders, surveillance specialists, and early-career scientists to share advances, strengthen connections, and help move wheat health science from discovery to deployment.

The workshop will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CEST in Room 1. A recording will be available for those not attending in person.

Learn more:

BGRI Workshop IWC 2026 The BGRI workshop at the International Wheat Congress (IWC) connects researchers, breeders, surveillance specialists, and early-career scientists to share progress, sharpen priorities, and strengthen the partnerships that protect one of the world’s most critical staple crops.

Wheat diseases do not stop at borders, and protecting harvests requires coordinated global action.

The Global Wheat Health Alliance, co-led by International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and Cornell University, will bring together partners across South Asia, East Africa, and the global wheat research community to connect gene discovery, field testing, and pre-emptive breeding for stronger disease resistance in new wheat varieties and hybrids.

Global Wheat Health Alliance launched to strengthen disease resistance in wheat The Global Wheat Health Alliance will connect gene discovery, field testing and pre-emptive breeding to help deliver stronger disease resistance in new wheat varieties and hybrids.

CIMMYT is seeking a Senior Scientist for Wheat Rust Genetics to help lead research on wheat rust resistance and advance durable rust-resistant germplasm. This is an important opportunity to contribute to global wheat health through integrated work in pathology, genetics, and crop improvement.

Please share with your networks and consider applying at International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT).

IRS26191 Senior Scientist, Pathology - Wheat Rust Genetics - CIMMYT CIMMYT is a cutting-edge, non-profit, international organization dedicated to solving tomorrow’s problems today. It is entrusted with fostering improved quantity, quality, and dependability of production systems and basic cereals such as maize, wheat, ...

An exciting opportunity is open at Aarhus Universitet in Denmark. The Department of Agroecology is seeking a Professor of Epidemiology/Pathology for Agricultural Crop Plants to join the Global Rust Reference Center (GRRC), a leading center focused on plant pathogen biology, epidemiology, and disease prevention in the context of variable environmental conditions and climate change.

Please share widely with your networks and consider applying.

Professor in Epidemiology/Pathology for Agricultural Crop Plants - Ledig stilling på Aarhus Universitet Ledig stilling ved Institut for Agroøkologi - Plantepatologi og Mikrobiologi, Aarhus Universitet