Joe Tohme

Joe Tohme, coordinated as director of the research area on Crops for Nutrition and Health at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT global programs on genetic resources, biotechnology, bean, cassava, forages, and rice, working with partners across Latin America, Eastern and Southern Africa, and Southeast Asia. Joe’s research involved integrating genomics with breeding and coordinating genome editing, He has published over 100 articles.

In 2013, he proposed the establishment of Future Seeds, a new genebank designed to be an innovation hub for conservation, digital genebank, digital engagement, and training. Joe coordinated Future Seeds construction that was inaugurated by the President of Colombia on March 15, 2022. Future Seeds received the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum certification, the first genebank to receive such certification.

Joe isa Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) since 2016, the recipient in 2018 of the “Medalla del Merito” from Los Andes University, Bogota, Colombia, and was awarded by the President of Colombia March 2022: Colombia’s Orden Nacional al Mérito- Colombia's Order of Merit.