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1 Ajay Kohli Senior Scientist – Molecular Biology Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology Division International Rice Research Institute DAPO 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines Nov.15, 2015 Email: [email protected], [email protected] Tel: +63 580 5600 Xtn. 2764 Mob: +63 9175096725, +44 7833 713945 EDUCATION Ph. D. 1998 John Innes Centre, Univ. East Anglia, Norwich, UK M.Tech. 1989 Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India M.Sc. 1987 Lucknow University, Lucknow, India B.Sc. 1985 Lucknow University, Lucknow, India APPOINTMENTS Adjunct Professor May ‘09 - University of Philippines, Los Banos (UPLB), Philippines Univ. Research Fellow (Senior Lecturer) Sep. ’04 – Aug. ‘08 Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK Faculty Scientist Aug. ’03 – Aug. ‘04 University of Washington, Seattle, USA Research Scientist May ’02 – May ‘03 Regulome Corporation, Seattle, USA Post Doctoral Fellow Feb. ’98 – Feb. ‘02 John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK Research Assistant Jan. ’93 – Jul. ‘95 International Rice Research Institute, Manila, Philippines Research Technician Apr. ’91 – Dec. ‘92 International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India Research Fellow Jul. ’89 – Mar. ’91 Genetic Engineering Unit Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India Project Trainee Apr. ’88 – Dec. ‘88 Molecular Biophysics Unit Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

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Ajay Kohli

Senior Scientist – Molecular Biology Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory Plant Breeding, Genetics and Biotechnology Division International Rice Research Institute DAPO 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines

Nov.15, 2015

Email: [email protected], [email protected] Tel: +63 580 5600 Xtn. 2764 Mob: +63 9175096725, +44 7833 713945

EDUCATION

Ph. D.

1998

John Innes Centre, Univ. East Anglia, Norwich, UK

M.Tech. 1989 Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India M.Sc. 1987 Lucknow University, Lucknow, India B.Sc. 1985 Lucknow University, Lucknow, India

APPOINTMENTS Adjunct Professor May ‘09 - University of Philippines,

Los Banos (UPLB), Philippines

Univ. Research Fellow (Senior Lecturer)

Sep. ’04 – Aug. ‘08

Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK

Faculty Scientist Aug. ’03 – Aug. ‘04

University of Washington, Seattle, USA

Research Scientist May ’02 – May ‘03

Regulome Corporation, Seattle, USA

Post Doctoral Fellow Feb. ’98 – Feb. ‘02

John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK

Research Assistant Jan. ’93 – Jul. ‘95

International Rice Research Institute, Manila, Philippines

Research Technician Apr. ’91 – Dec. ‘92

International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, New Delhi, India

Research Fellow Jul. ’89 – Mar. ’91

Genetic Engineering Unit Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India

Project Trainee Apr. ’88 – Dec. ‘88

Molecular Biophysics Unit Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India

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RESEARCH INTERESTS There are two major areas of research in our group. Firstly, forward and reverse approach to gene discovery for drought tolerance in rice. For the forward approach transcriptomics and proteomics methods are used to identify genes related to drought tolerance. In the reverse approach, field proven large effect QTLs are used to identify and validate candidate genes to elucidate the mechanistic basis of the QTL function. Secondly, we are interested in rice endosperm development as related to increasing rice yield potential. In both cases interesting genes have been identified and validated as useful leads. We work very closely with rice breeders and use elite germplasm identified or generated by them. We also work closely with rice physiologists to validate the physiological basis of the action of our candidate genes. MAJOR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES • Identification, cloning and validation of cardinal genes underlying QTLs for rice yield under

drought • Characterization of a multifunctional gene essential for rice endosperm development • Characterization of root proteases for drought tolerance in rice • Role of protein post-translational modification in abiotic stress tolerance in rice • Role of plant hormone jasmonic acid in abiotic stress tolerance in rice TEACHING ACTIVITIES I have taught 7 courses to Masters Students at Newcastle University for 4 years and in one year I ran a highly successful weeklong molecular biology and biochemistry workshop for Masters Students, which was adopted as a model for the following years. I regularly train graduate and postgraduate students. Till date I have supervised 22 pre-PhD (BSc and MSc; 2-9 months projects) and 9 PhD students including two ongoing at IRRI and one in collaboration with Prof. Peter Nick and Dr. Michael Riemann at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany. PEER RECOGNITION, HONORS AND AWARDS Academic Leadership

Group Leader

Plant Molecular Biology Laboratory, International Rice Research Institute, Manila, Philippines

Oct. ‘08 - present

Group Leader

Molecular Agriculture, School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK

Sep. ’04 - Sep. ‘08

Leader For a 9-lab, 6-country consortium on Jatropha Biodiesel.

Jul. ’05 - Jul. ‘08

Theme Leader

Genes and Environment, Institute for Research on Environment and Sustainability, Newcastle

Jul. ’05 - Sep. ‘08

Section Leader

Energy Biosciences – Joseph Swan Energy Research Institute, Newcastle, UK

Sep. ’07 - Sep. ‘08

Project Leader

For the UK lab on a 6-nation EU consortium project on transposon insertion-mediated saturation mutagenesis of rice

Jan. ’98 - Mar. ‘02

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Editorial and Review Activities

Associate Editor

Plant Molecular Biology

Jan. ’13 -

Editorial Board

Journal of Agricultural Science Nov. ’12 -

Associate Editor

Frontiers in Plant Nutrition Jul. ’12 -

Editorial Board

Transgenic Research Jan. ‘99 – Dec. ‘03

Manuscript Review

Nature Biotechnology, Nature Communications, PNAS–USA, Plant Physiology, Plant Journal, New Phytologist, Plant Biotechnology Journal, Plant Molecular Biology, Heredity, The FEBS Journal, Molecular Breeding, Molecular Genetics and Genomics, Theoretical and Applied Genetics, Functional and Integrative Genomics, Planta, Plant Science, Transgenic Research, Annals of Botany, Rice, Plant Cell Reports, Plant Methods, Biotechniques, Crop Science, Field Crops Research, Journal of Agricultural Science, Food and Agricultural Chemistry, Plant Molecular Biology Reporter, Plant Breeding, Canadian Journal of Microbiology, Current Science, Diversity, Molecular Biotechnology, Molecular Biology Reports, Journal of Plant Breeding, Genomics Proteomics and Bioinformatics, Journal of Biotechnology, Revista Cientifica UDO Agricola-Venezuela.

Since ‘98

Grants Review

Proposals to the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) French National Research Agency “Biotechnology and Bioresource Engineering (ANR-BBE) Portugese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, I.P)

Since ‘05

Thesis Examiner

External examiner for Ph.D. thesis submitted to:

• Department of Plant Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney Australia – 1

• Department of Botany, Madras University, Chennai, India – 3

• Birla Institute of Technology, MESRA Ranchi, India – 1 • GGSIP University, New Delhi, India – 1 • SMVD University, Kakryal, Katra, J&K, India - 1

Since ‘11

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Committees and Board Memberships

Member Scientific Advisory Board, International Symposium on Sustainable Agriculture in Sub-Tropical Regions, China

Oct. 18 – 20, ‘15

Chairman

Institute Biosafety Committee, IRRI

Oct. ‘15 -

Member International advisory committee – 12th human proteome (HuPO) world congress, Yokohama, Japan

Sep. 16 - 19, ‘13

Member Executive Council, Asia Oceania Human Proteome Organization representing the Philippines

Jan. ’10 – Dec. ‘12

Chairman IRRI Seminar Committee

Jan. ’09 - Dec. ‘10

Member Scientific Committee – International Rice Congress 2010, Hanoi, Vietnam

Jan. ’10 - May ‘10

Co-Chair Molecular Biology & -Omics Technologies, International Rice Congress 2010, Hanoi, Vietnam

Nov. 8 – 12, ‘10

Member IRRI Expedition to Colombia and Brazil - status of rice revolution in Latin America

Jan. 19 - Feb. 4, ‘10

Organizer Convener

Symposium - Future of Multigene & Targeted Gene Delivery in Crop Plants. IRRI, Philippines Molecular Biology – International Rice Genetics Conference, Manila, Philippines

May 11 – 13, ‘09 Nov. 16 - 19, ‘09

Member Expert Committee, Jatropha - European Commission Research Directorate - E (Food Agriculture and Biotechnology). EC Offices, Brussels

Dec. 7 – 8, ‘07

Member Strategic Research Committee – School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK

May ’05 - Sep. ‘08

Member Scientific Advisory Panel Nandan Biomatrix, Pvt. Ltd. Hyderabad

Sep. ’05 - Sep. ‘08

Member Scientific Advisory Panel ‘Scientity Ltd.” Newcastle, UK

Sep. ’06 - Sep. ‘08

Member Scientific Advisory Panel, Helix Genomics, Hyderabad, India

Jan. ’06 – Dec. ‘08

Member Advisory Committee, International Symposium “Light and Life” University Hyderabad, India

Aug. 20 - 31, ‘07

Member Northern Food Industry Innovation Network, Newcastle, UK

Jan. ’06 – Sep. ‘08

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Honors and Awards

Hon. visiting Fellow

School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

Sep. ’09 – Sep. ‘12

Hon. visiting Fellow

School of life sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

Aug. ’08 – Aug. ‘11

Awarded Best Paper – “Molecular Dissection of the QTL DTY12.1 for Rice Yield Under Drought Stress: Role of Transcription Factor No Apical Meristem” during the 42nd Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP) Annual Conference, Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, Philippines. 16-20 April 2012.

Apr. 16 – 20, ‘12

Awarded Awarded Awarded Semi-finalist

Best Paper – “A Developmentally Upregulated Rice Germin-Like Protein: A Bifunctional Essential Gene”, during the 21st conference of the Federation of Crop Science Societies of Philippines (FCSSP), La Piazza, Legazpi, Philippines. As supervisor of the Best M.Sc. Thesis award to NCQ Binh by UPLB chapter of ΓΣΔ Agriculture Honor Society-USA, for ‘Molecular and biochemical characterization of germin-like protein in rice’ As supervisor of the Best M.Sc. Thesis award to Rowena Oane by the Philippines Department of Science and Technology, for ‘Transcription factor NAM: A major candidate gene in the large effect QTL for rice yield under reproductive drought stress’ The Research Councils UK Business Plan Competition

May 9 – 12, ‘11 Feb. ‘11 Nov. ‘10 Jun. ‘06

Awarded Nuffield Foundation New Lecturer Award, UK for the project: Amount awarded: £5000 A systems biology approach to sustainable agriculture: Construction of genomic tag libraries for discovery and characterisation of cis-regulatory elements in plants

Apr. ‘05

Consultant Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biotechnology, Aachen,

Apr. ‘02

Awarded The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Exceptional Performance Award (EPA) for 2 consecutive years

Feb. ‘98 – ‘99 Feb. ’99 – ‘00

Awarded Department for International Development (DFID) UK, graduate studentship for Ph.D.

Jul. ’95 - Dec. ‘97

Awarded Department of Biotechnology, Government. of India, Senior Research Fellowship

Jul. ’89 - Mar. ‘91

Awarded Department of Science and Technology, Government. of Jul. ’87 - Feb.’89

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India, Junior Research Fellowship - M.Tech.

PUBLICATIONS

• Peer Reviewed papers: 52 • Book chapters: 8 • Conference papers: 2 • Conference abstracts: 22 • h-index: 25

For peer reviewed publications, please refer to http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=LDgD_SIAAAAJ&hl=en https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ajay_Kohli