Ph.D. Scholar - Rapid Cycling and Predictive Breeding

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, triticale, sorghum, millets, and associated crops through applied agricultural science, particularly in the Global South, through building strong partnerships. This combination enhances the livelihood trajectories and resilience of millions of resource-poor farmers, while working towards a more productive, inclusive, and resilient agrifood system within planetary boundaries.

For more information, visit https://www.cimmyt.org/.

CIMMYT is implementing a project to enhance the speed and precision of dryland crop breeding through artificial intelligence, genomic prediction, rapid generation advancement, and rapid cycling genomic selection (RCGS). The project aims to radically shorten breeding cycles, increase genetic gain, and improve the delivery of climate-resilient, market-preferred varieties for dryland farming systems.

A key part of the project focuses on testing rapid cycling schemes such as recycling at very early generations (F1) and using haplotype-based cross prediction to select individuals to generate succeeding cycles. The project also emphasizes learning loops, where early-generation pr