The International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) has named Dr Jodi Scheffler, Crop Genetics Research Unit, USDA, as the 2022 ICAC Researcher of the Year, according to DrKeshavKranthi, Chief Scientist of the ICAC and himself a winner of the award in 2009.

ICAC honors a leading cotton researcher each year by awarding a certificate of recognition, a shield and an honorarium of $1,000. DrScheffler was selected by an independent panel of six eminent experts from six different countries.

DrScheffler, who also is an ad¬junct Professor at Mississippi State University, worked for 12 years in the United Kingdom and Germany. In the UK, she es¬tablished large scale methods to track canola (Bras¬sica napus) pollen movement. This work was used to develop biosafety regulations for the UK, USA and many European countries.

During her time at USDA, DrScheffler has been instrumental in identifying, developing and making available molecular markers for use by the cotton community. Her research focusses on increas¬ing cottonseed use and incorporating traits that will improve host plant resistance (HPR).

In addition to being named the 2022 ICAC Researcher of the Year, DrScheffler has earned many other awards during her distinguished career, including the 2014 National Cotton Genetics Research Award, co-recipient of the 2016 Federal Laboratory Consortium’s Regional STEM Education award and the 2016 Secretary of Agriculture’s Abraham Lincoln Award.