• Support CGIAR breeding programs to prioritize and use available human and operational resources to accelerate genetic gain for targeted product profiles• Be a part of the ABI-BRI coordination team and play an active role in strategic planning and unified implementation of work plans wherever possible • As interim Accelerated Breeding Initiative (ABI) - ACCELERATE Lead [May 2022-Mar 2023], I coordinated group efforts and established various support systems for breeding teams across CGIAR [>20 crops and 60 breeding pipelines] for the timely implementation of the initiative's work plans and to effectively deliver against its results framework• By using the ABI framework, promote the understanding of ONE CGIAR's mission and vision among the broader scientific community and help create an environment to deliver superior research products to farmers and other beneficiaries in the value chain

• Provided leadership to design and implement a spring wheat breeding program to develop improved wheat germplasm for rainfed growing environments in developing countries [>20 million ha, primarily in South Asia and East Africa].• Defined product profiles for target environments/market segments. Multiple breeding pipelines were developed to improve population and deliver products for different market segments [Hard white drought-tolerant for normal and late maturity, and hard white and red for high rainfall environments]. • Co-ordinated "Basic Wheat Improvement Course- BWIC2022, a four-month-long training program offered by the global wheat program of CIMMYT. Over 100 scientists, university faculty members, and graduate students from more than 35 countries participated in this course this year [January - May 2022]• Served Enterprise Breeding System (EBS) program board as a business change manager (BCM). The EBS is open-source breeding informatics and management software developed for crop breeding programs across CGIAR centers and their partners

• Provided leadership to design and implement a spring wheat breeding program to develop improved wheat germplasm for rainfed growing environments in developing countries [>20 million ha, primarily in South Asia and East Africa].• Defined product profiles for target environments/market segments. Multiple breeding pipelines were developed to improve population and deliver products for different market segments [Hard white drought-tolerant for normal and late maturity, and hard white and red for high rainfall environments].

• Led the development and implementation of collaborative research projects on hybrid wheat with multiple partners [public and private] • Designed, produced, and tested CHA and CMS hybrids to understand the genetic basis of heterosis, develop heterotic pools and identify the commercially viable product• Fully functional CMS-based hybrid wheat production system [3 lines or A, B, R system] developed• Male breeding pool with improved traits for cross-pollination, fertility restoration, and per-se yield performance was developed. Several male lines were shared with research partners and deposited in the germplasm bank • Contributed to designing and implementing the “physiological basis of heterosis” project.

• Led multiple projects aimed at understanding the genetic basis of durable rust resistance, molecular mapping, and functional marker development • Strategic deployment of both simple (race-specific or gene-for-gene interaction type in wheat rust) and complex (race non-specific and slow rusting) resistance in breeding programs.