2007 GCP Annual Research Meeting

The 2007 Annual Research Meeting (ARM) is tentatively scheduled for the second week of September (10-16). Please block this week for the ARM. We will send confirmation of the dates and announce the meeting venue in future communications.

Global Crop Diversity Trust and the GCP Sign Memorandum of Understanding, Commit to Align Research Portfolios

On 5 December 2006 at the CGIAR Annual General Meeting, Cary Fowler, executive secretary of the Global Crop Diversity Trust (?the Trust?), and Jean-Marcel Ribaut, GCP director, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), formally initiating collaboration between the two organizations. The Trust?s mission is to ensure the conservation and availability of crop diversity for food security worldwide, and the GCP is creating a public platform for exploring and applying crop diversity in plant breeding programs. ?Our organizations have complimentary mandates, and together we can work more efficiently and toward greater impact,? commented Jean-Marcel Ribaut at the signing of the MOU. See the full story here: http://www.generationcp.org/latestnews.php?i=578.

GCP Partners Participate in CGIAR Forum for Civil Society Organizations

At the recent Annual General Meeting of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) in Washington DC, over 100 representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs) participated in the first-ever forum on CSO-CGIAR collaboration. The Generation Challenge Programme has many active partnerships with CSOs, and three GCP partners attended the forum: Chiedozie Ngozi Egesi of the National Root Crops Research Institute in Nigeria; Jorge Rojas Beltr?n of Bolivia?s PROINPA (Promotion and Investigation of Andean Crops); and Suhaila Rahman, a GCP Fellow from Bangladesh conducting research at the University of California. The full feature story can be accessed here: http://www.generationcp.org/capcorner.php.

GCP Bioinformatics Platform Meeting at 2007 PAG

All GCP scientists attending the Plant and Animal Genome (PAG) XV Conference (http://www.intl-pag.org/) at the Town & Country Convention Center in San Diego this January are welcome to attend the 1st GCP Informatics Platform User's Meeting. We are demonstrating several interesting tools that are part of the GCP Informatics Platform (http://pantheon.generationcp.org). The full agenda is in preparation and can be viewed on the GCP Wiki (http://cropwiki.irri.org/gcp/index.php/Platform_Users_Meeting_2007_at_PAG_XV).

A smaller meeting will be also held at the same venue after PAG on 18 January, 9am to 1pm, to discuss further the feedback from the users meeting and plans for improvements in the platform for 2007. To register for either meeting, please send your name, email address and the GCP project(s) you are involved with to Guy Davenport at CIMMYT (g.davenport@cgiar.org).

Training Workshop on Molecular Characterization of Inbred Lines and Populations in Maize in India, 1-3 April 2007 ? Applications due 1 January 2007

The goal of this workshop is to provide background and training in the use of SSR markers for characterizing crop germplasm, with particular emphasis on heterogeneous populations, particularly maize. Sessions will include: DNA extraction for the bulked method; PCR, electrophoresis on an automatic DNA sequencer; reading gels and generating specialized data files of allele frequencies from bulks; analyzing population diversity statistics and comparisons between populations. A general discussion of use of genetic diversity studies will be included.

Participants will be selected based on panel review of applications. Preference will be given to participants who are already working on molecular marker characterization of crop species, especially outcrossing species. Participants must be proficient in English, and demonstrate that their participation will lead to direct improvements in their research. The Generation Challenge Program will cover all course fees, travel, and accommodation costs for selected participants.

For more information and application materials, see the full posting on the GCP website: http://www.generationcp.org/gcp_announces_course_on_.

GCP Fellowships: Deadline for Applications 31 January 2007

The Generation Fellowship awards were established to facilitate innovative research related to the central themes of the Generation Challenge Programme (GCP). The Fellowships are aimed at scientists who want to conduct research outside of their home countries/institutions for a period from three months to one year on one of the four themes of the GCP: 1) genetic diversity of global genetic resources, 2) comparative genomics for gene discovery, 3) trait capture for crop improvement, and 4) genetic resources, genomic, and crop information systems.

Eight Fellowships will be offered. The maximum award per fellow will be up to US$25,000 and is intended to cover travel, living expenses, accommodation, laboratory consumables, and conference participation (if applicable).

Proposals should deal with one of the GCP crops and must be linked with ongoing research supported by the GCP, either by competitive or commissioned grants (see http://www.generationcp.org/ for a list of ongoing projects). Please note that the proposal should present evidence that the fellowship will be oriented towards training of the candidate and improving capacity at the home institution, rather than to provide extra funding for ongoing projects.

For more information, downloadable application materials, and submission criteria, please see the GCP Fellowships page: http://www.generationcp.org/gcp_fellowshipshomepage.

Jenny Nelson Bids Farewell to the Generation Challenge Programme

It is with sadness that I announce my departure from the GCP to take up a new position as Communications Manager with a Washington DC-based non-profit organization called Ecoagriculture Partners, starting in January 2007. The new job will allow me a flexible schedule to be able to pursue a master?s degree, which has been a dream of mine for some time. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the GCP for the opportunity to work with such a dynamic programme for the last three and a half years and to meet so many wonderful people doing excellent science to help the world. Keep up the great work, and please keep in touch! After 1 March 2007, please email me at opelikajenny@hotmail.com.

Announcements on the GCP Website

The GCP website has a "Latest News" feature where we can post announcements about events, publications, etc., of interest to GCP members and the global genetic resources and genomics community. The website gets over 2,000 hits per month, so here's a way to get some publicity for your news! If you have an announcement you would like posted, please send it to Kaitlin Lesnick (k.lesnick@cgiar.org) for posting to http://www.generationcp.org.