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Dr. Channapatna S. Prakash
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Dr. C. S. Prakash, Professor in Plant Molecular Genetics and Director of the Center for Plant Biotechnology Research at Tuskegee University, oversees research on food crops of importance to developing countries and the training of scientists and students in plant biotechnology. Dr. Prakash has also been actively involved in enhancing the societal awareness of food biotechnology issues around the world. His Internet website www.agbioworld.org has become an important portal, disseminating information and promoting discussion on this subject among stakeholders such as scientists, policy makers, activists and journalists. He recently served on the USDA's Agricultural Biotechnology Advisory Committee and continues to serve on the Advisory Committee for the Department of Biotechnology for the government of India. His outreach activities also include writing commentaries, delivering public lectures, providing media interviews, and moderating the daily Internet discussion group and newsletter ‘AgBioView’ which is read by more than 4,000 experts in 55 countries. AgBioView is widely recognized as a premier news outlet on agbiotech issues because of its broad focus on technical, societal and ethical issues. Dr. Prakash, through his efforts, has been |
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Dr. Prakash has actively worked to promote biotechnology research and policy in developing countries in Asia and Africa by training students and scholars, and through research collaboration and lectures. Dr. Prakash’s contribution to agricultural biotechnology outreach was recognized by the magazine Progressive Farmer who awarded him the ‘Man of the Year’ award ‘in service to Alabama Agriculture’. He was recently named as one of a dozen ‘pioneers, visionaries and innovators behind the progress and promise of plant biotechnology’ by the Council for Biotechnology Information.
Dr. Prakash has a bachelor's degree in agriculture and a master's in genetics from India, and obtained his Ph.D. in forestry/genetics from the Australian National University, Canberra. His research interests include studies on transgenic plants, gene expression, tissue culture and plant genomics. Dr. Prakash's group at TU has led the development of transgenic sweetpotato plants, identification of DNA markers in peanut and the development of a genetic map of cultivated peanut. Recently they enhanced the protein content of crops through genetic modification. He has received funding for his research from the United States Department of Agriculture, National Science Foundation, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Agency for International Development and UNESCO. Currently, he serves as the principal investigator of a USAID funded project to promote biotechnology awareness in Africa. He has more than fifty scientific publications in refereed journals and has presented more than 100 papers. He also teaches two courses in plant biotechnology at TU.
Dr. Prakash is the founder of AgBioWorld Foundation that aims to provide science-based information on agbiotech issues to various stakeholders across the world. Its website, http://www.agbioworld.org, has received endorsements from over 3,400 scientists from across the world. The AgBioWorld ‘Declaration in Support of Agricultural Biotechnology’ includes 25 Nobel Laureates such as Dr. Norman Borlaug, Dr. James Watson, Dr. Arthur Korenberg, Dr. Marshall Nirenberg, Dr. Peter Doherty, Dr. Paul Berg, Mr. Oscar Arias and Dr. John Boyer. Under the AgBioWorld banner, Dr. Prakash has sent petitions and press releases to various fora on emerging issues related to biotechnology, such as the gene flow into Mexican corn landraces, rejection of food aid to Zambia, and the relevance of Golden Rice. The success of AgBioWorld has been widely recognized by the media as over hundreds of newspapers and magazines, including the New York Times, Washington Post, International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, Chicago Tribune, Chronicle of Higher Education, The Scientist, Science, Nature, and Nature Biotechnology and South China Morning Post have reported on this initiative. Governor Tom Vilsack of Iowa praised AgBioWorld during a governors’ conference, while Dr. Norman Borlaug has frequently commended Dr. Prakash’s efforts in his writings and lectures. Senator Christopher Bond (R, MO) also has acknowledged Dr. Prakash’s initiatives in biotechnology during a senate floor discussion and placed his op-ed column from the Atlanta Journal Constitution ‘Foes of Biotechnology Ignore Global Hunger’ in the Congressional record.
Dr. Prakash has spoken at dozens of institutions across the world on various continents. He has also met with policy makers, media, scientists and other stakeholders to relay information on scientific issues related to bioengineered crops. His speaking venues include the United Nations, the Vatican, and the US Congress, and Dr. Prakash is widely sought as a speaker in international gatherings. An active writer, he has written dozens of commentaries in national and international papers, including the Washington Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Atlanta Journal Constitution, San Diego Union Tribune, The Telegraph and Financial Express. Dr. Prakash’s views have appeared in various media including Time Magazine, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, National Public Radio, BBC Radio, Science, Wall Street Journal, Technology Review, Focus (Germany), MSNBC.Com, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Village Voice, and several overseas newspapers and radio stations. He has also been interviewed by TV Stations in many countries, including Spain, New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Jamacia, England, Thailand and India
Dr. Prakash serves on the scientific advisory board of the American Council on Science and Health, and also as an Advising Editor to AgBiotechNet, the Journal of New Seeds, Indian Journal of Biotechnology, Food Biotechnology, and the Journal of Plant Biochemistry and Biotechnology.
Dr. Prakash often serves as a speaker on behalf of the U.S. State Department and has traveled to many nations across the globe to deliver public lectures, interacting with the media and meet with policymakers, scientists, activists and trade experts.
Contact info:
C. S. Prakash, Ph.D.
Professor, Plant Molecular Genetics & Director
Center for Plant Biotechnology Research
College of Agricultural, Environmental and Natural Sciences
Milbank Hall
Tuskegee University
Tuskegee, AL 36088
USA
prakash@tuskegee.edu
http://www.agbioworld.org
Phone (334) 727-8023
Cell (334) 444-7884
Fax (334) 727-8067
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