Juan David Lobatón

Juan David Lobaton Garces is the Latin American leading Molecular Geneticist for CIAT bean breeding program. He holds a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of New England (Australia).

He has experience in biotechnology understanding cellular mechanisms of pollination and developing molecular markers for genetic breeding. Dr. Garces's research focuses on developing innovative strategies for allele discovery, genome introgression, and microbiome interactions with the aim of advancing the fields of ecology and agriculture.

His work has demonstrated the potential of using molecular markers to select bean genotypes for drought and heat tolerance, plant pathogen resistances, cooking time, slow darkening, and biofortification. Driven by a deep passion for nature, Juan has committed his research to advance the frontiers of science by developing creative strategies to understand gene expression for plant genetic improvement and crop adaptation.