Salas-Fernandez, Maria

Maria Salas Fernandez is a Professor in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University (ISU). She received a B.S. in Agricultural Production Engineering from the Argentine Catholic University, an M.S. in Plant Physiology from Texas A&M University, and a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Cornell University. Before her appointment in the academia, she worked in the private sector in Argentina, at the R&D Department of American Cyanamid Company and as a sorghum breeder junior at Nidera SA. She initiated and leads a sorghum field breeding program at ISU to develop germplasm for forage and biofuel production adapted to the Midwest. Her research program is also focused on the use of genomics and high-throughput phenotyping technology to identify genetic mechanisms controlling traits such as plant architecture, photosynthesis, photoprotection and cold tolerance at germination. Dr. Salas Fernandez is a member of the R. F. Baker Center for Plant Breeding at Iowa State University and has been selected as a Plant Sciences Institute Scholar for Predictive Phenomics at ISU.

Awards:

  • 2013 American Society of Agronomy (ASA) Early Career Professional Award.
  • 2014 National Association of Plant Breeders (NAPB) Early Career Award.
  • NSF CAREER grant for her novel research in photosynthesis and photoprotection.
  • 2019 Baker Agronomic Excellence Award, Iowa State University.
  • 2024 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Inclusive Excellence Award, Iowa State University.

Singh, Asheesh

Description of our team: We are a breeding, discovery, and tool-development-driven group interested in using transcending approaches and research activities to prepare and promote the next generation of competent and creative people who will work in inter- and trans-disciplinary teams to conduct critical research and establish effective breeding and research programs.

Our Mission: Educate the next generation of breeders in agriculture, engineering, and data science to develop tools and technologies that advance plant sciences and empower farmers to increase profitability and environmental sustainability.

Our Research Goals: To improve agricultural production and positively impact farmers and the agriculture industry by developing new products (cultivars, germplasm, methods, tools), gene discovery, and research insights.

Publications details – through Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=lzTBffEAAAAJ&hl=en

About me: My professional interest is to help improve agricultural production and use research/breeding activities to benefit farmers and the agriculture industry by developing superior soybean and millets cultivars and germplasm for farmers and other stakeholders.

I have participated in the development of >75 cultivars (annually grown in >10 million acres) and 13 germplasm lines, published >165 peer-reviewed publications (and additionally >200 conference/meeting abstracts or posters), served as a PI/co-PI on federal and commodity board funded projects from multiple sources and given >75 invited talks nationally and internationally.

I have co-authored the textbook “Plant Breeding and Cultivar Development” (Academic Press, USA; 2021) [https://www.elsevier.com/books/plant-breeding-and-cultivar-development/singh/978-0-12-817563-7]. I lead AGRON 521 (Principles of Cultivar Development) and AGRON 522 (Field Methods in Plant Breeding) courses at ISU.

Plant-breeding experience: soybean, millets, durum wheat, wheat, maize, oats and barley.