WIT Mentor Award
Award Summary
This award, established in 2010 and first awarded in 2011, recognizes mentors who have proven to be excellent mentors of women working in Triticum and its nearest relatives. The award is named after Jeanie Borlaug Laube, mentor to many, and daughter of Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug. Jeanie Borlaug Laube has served as Chair of the Borlaug Global Rust Initiative since October 2009.
Commitment to increasing gender parity in agriculture as reflected in the nomination letter
Excellence in mentoring of women working in triticum
Commitment to scientific outputs that contribute to healthy families around the world as reflected in the nomination letter.
Application Process
You will need to submit two supporting letters that, in 500 words or less, illustrate why your nominee meets the stated selection criteria and is a compelling recipient of the award. Also, please include a brief two-page CV of the nominee.
The nomination period is closed.
WIT Mentor Winners
2023
Amor Yahyaoui
Tunisia and the United States
The 2023 WIT Mentor awardee is Amor Yahyaoui, Vice President of the Borlaug Training Foundation.
2022
Parveen Chhuneja
India
The 2022 WIT Mentor awardee is Parveen Chuneja, Director and Principal molecular geneticist at the School of Agricultural Biotechnology at Punjab Agricultural University.
2021
Cristóbal Uauy
United Kingdom
The 2021 WIT Mentor awardee is Cristóbal Uauy, a group leader in wheat genetics and genomics at the John Innes Centre where his program focuses improving both yield and quality components in wheat.
2020
Evans Lagudah
Australia
The 2020 WIT Mentor awardee is Evans Lagudah, a Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO, Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and an adjunct professor at the University of Sydney.
2019
Ruth Dill-Macky
United States
The 2019 WIT Mentor awardee is Ruth Dill-Macky, who has served on the faculty of the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Minnesota for over 26 years.
2018
Urmil Bansal
India
The 2018 WIT Mentor awardee is Urmil Bansal, who leads the development and validation of molecular markers linked with rust resistance genes in wheat as Molecular Geneticist at the University of Sydney Plant Breeding Institute (PBI), Cobbitty.
2017
Silvia Germán
Uruguay
The 2017 WIT Mentor awardee is Silvia Germán, principal researcher at the National Agricultural Research Institute (INIA) of Uruguay when she retired in 2017.
2016
Ronald M. DePauw
Canada
The 2016 WIT Mentor awardee is Ronald M. DePauw retired wheat breeder from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
2015
Mike Pumphrey
United States
The 2015 WIT Mentor awardee is Mike Pumphrey, the O.A. Vogel Endowed Chair of Spring Wheat Breeding and Genetics at Washington State University (WSU).
2014
Arun Joshi
Nepal
The 2014 WIT Mentor awardee is Arun Josh, regional director of CIMMYT based in India.
2013
Yue Jin
United States
The 2013 WIT Mentor awardee is Yue Jin, an expert in biology and population genetics of cereal rust fungi who has worked extensively to promote gender parity in agriculture.
2012
Francis Ogbonnaya
Nigeria
The 2012 WIT Mentor awardee is Francis Ogbonnaya is manager of oilseeds and pulses at the Grain Research and Development Corporation.
2011
Lesley Boyd
UK
The 2011 WIT Mentor awardee is Lesley Boyd, a research group leader at National Institute of Agricultural Botany, in Cambridge, UK.
