Borlaug Global Rust Initiative

09/03/2026

New research from Aarhus Universitet maps the global movement of yellow rust over 15 years, tracing intercontinental spread and its links to major wheat epidemics.

“Time is of the essence," says Mogens Hovmoller. "If we discover something new in one season, we want to be able to report it before farmers and breeders must make decisions about the next one. Our work to build a global database and visualisation system for rust data has been essential in this respect."

A global study of 3,240 samples documents 10 jumps between continents – seven followed by major epidemics. The researchers also show that different yellow rust strains growing on the same wheat...

09/02/2026

Turn a promising wheat health research idea into research that can be used in the field.

The BGRI and Global Wheat Health Alliance are accepting applications for Translational Wheat Health Seed Grants. Awards of up to $20,000 are available for undergraduate and graduate students at U.S. universities.

The grants support research that can help move wheat health solutions toward practical use. Priority areas include disease resistance, wheat blast, phenotyping, pathogen surveillance, and diagnostic tools.

Applications are due Sept. 30, 2026.

Learn more: https://bgri.cornell.edu/awards/seed-grants-in-translational-wheat-health/

International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell University

09/01/2026

Congratulations to Ravi Prakash Singh and Maricelis Acevedo, two scientists with deep ties to the BGRI, on major honors from The American Phytopathological Society (APS)

Singh received the 2026 Award of Distinction, the society’s highest honor, for a career that transformed wheat breeding and disease resistance. Acevedo, director for science of the BGRI, received the Excellence in International Service Award for her work strengthening plant pathology and agricultural research around the world.

Read more about their contributions:

Two scientists with deep ties to the BGRI received major honors from the American Phytopathological Society (APS) for advancing plant disease research and strengthening agricultural systems worldwide.

06/29/2026

We are proud to recognize Katharina Jung as a 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Award recipient.

Katharina, a postdoctoral researcher at the Universität Zürich, works with modern and traditional wheat varieties from Asia that carry valuable diversity but remain underused in breeding. Through field trials with CIMMYT and genomic analysis, she is studying how that diversity can help wheat resist yellow rust and adapt to drought. https://bgri.cornell.edu/awards/wit-early-career-award/katharina-jung/

06/25/2026

We are proud to recognize Shannon Baker as a 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Award recipient. Shannon uses drone-based phenotyping and data analysis to reveal how wheat varieties respond to drought, disease and other field pressures, helping research teams identify promising lines sooner and advance more resilient wheat. She also leads education and professional development across a national wheat research network, giving students and early-career scientists the chance to contribute directly to major wheat research efforts. Texas A&M AgriLife Research https://bgri.cornell.edu/awards/wit-early-career-award/shannon-baker/

06/15/2026

We are proud to recognize Bernice Ngina Waweru as a 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Award recipient.

Bernice is a PhD researcher at the John Innes Centre whose work focuses on the genetic basis of wheat disease resistance. By combining molecular biology, phenotyping, genetics and computational tools, she is helping identify useful variation linked to yellow rust resistance and support the development of more resilient wheat.

Read more about Bernice and her work: https://bgri.cornell.edu/awards/wit-early-career-award/bernice-waweru/

06/08/2026

The BGRI community is remembering Kathy Kahn, a scientist, program officer, and partner whose work strengthened the global response to wheat rust diseases and increased sustainable productivity for smallholder wheat farmers. Her legacy lives on in the partnerships she helped strengthen, the scientists she supported, and their ongoing work to protect wheat harvests around the world.

The BGRI community remembers Kathy Kahn, a scientist, program officer and partner whose work strengthened the global response to wheat rust diseases and increased sustainable productivity for smallholder wheat farmers around the globe.

06/02/2026

The BGRI is on LinkedIn! Follow our page for updates from across the global wheat research community, including disease surveillance, breeding advances, partnerships, training opportunities, events and stories from scientists working to protect wheat harvests around the world.

Help us grow the page by following and sharing it with colleagues interested in wheat, crop disease research and global food security.

Follow here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/borlaug-global-rust

05/28/2026

Researchers around the world are driving critical advances to protect one of the world’s most important food crops from escalating disease threats and production challenges. As part of supporting and recognizing the next generation of scientific leadership, we are proud to announce Shannon Baker, Katharina Jung and Bernice Ngina Waweru as the 2026 recipients of the Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Award.

🔬 Shannon Baker, from Texas A&M AgriLife Research, integrates unoccupied aerial systems, data analytics and classical breeding to accelerate wheat cultivar development for drought-prone and irrigated production systems.

🌾 Katharina Jung, from the Universität Zürich, studies the genetic basis of yellow rust resistance and drought adaptation in bread wheat, with a focus on modern and traditional wheat varieties from Asia.

🧬 Bernice Ngina Waweru, from the John Innes Centre, uses molecular biology, high-resolution phenotyping, genetics and computational approaches to uncover the genetic basis of wheat disease resistance.

Together, their work reflects the innovation, collaboration and leadership needed to strengthen wheat against disease and support farmers facing growing pressure in the field.

Please join us in congratulating Shannon, Katharina and Bernice!

Three early-career scientists advancing wheat phenotyping, genetic diversity and disease-resistance genomics have been named recipients of the 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Early Career Awards.

05/18/2026

We are excited to join the global wheat community in Italy for the 4th International Wheat Congress.

On Sunday, May 24, we will convene a half-day workshop focused on the progress, partnerships, and priorities shaping the next phase of global wheat health. The program will bring together researchers, breeders, surveillance specialists, and early-career scientists to share advances, strengthen connections, and help move wheat health science from discovery to deployment.

The workshop will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CEST in Room 1. A recording will be available for those not attending in person.

Learn more:

The BGRI workshop at the International Wheat Congress (IWC) connects researchers, breeders, surveillance specialists, and early-career scientists to share progress, sharpen priorities, and strengthen the partnerships that protect one of the world’s most critical staple crops.