Borlaug Global Rust Initiative

The BGRI community is remembering Kathy Kahn, a scientist, program officer, and partner whose work strengthened the global response to wheat rust diseases and increased sustainable productivity for smallholder wheat farmers. Her legacy lives on in the partnerships she helped strengthen, the scientists she supported, and their ongoing work to protect wheat harvests around the world.

Kathy Kahn: A Legacy of Strengthening Global Wheat Research - BGRI - Borlaug Global Rust Initiative The BGRI community remembers Kathy Kahn, a scientist, program officer and partner whose work strengthened the global response to wheat rust diseases and increased sustainable productivity for smallholder wheat farmers around the globe.

The BGRI is on LinkedIn! Follow our page for updates from across the global wheat research community, including disease surveillance, breeding advances, partnerships, training opportunities, events and stories from scientists working to protect wheat harvests around the world.

Help us grow the page by following and sharing it with colleagues interested in wheat, crop disease research and global food security.

Follow here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/borlaug-global-rust

We are excited to join the global wheat community in Italy for the 4th International Wheat Congress.

On Sunday, May 24, we will convene a half-day workshop focused on the progress, partnerships, and priorities shaping the next phase of global wheat health. The program will bring together researchers, breeders, surveillance specialists, and early-career scientists to share advances, strengthen connections, and help move wheat health science from discovery to deployment.

The workshop will take place from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. CEST in Room 1. A recording will be available for those not attending in person.

Learn more:

BGRI Workshop IWC 2026 The BGRI workshop at the International Wheat Congress (IWC) connects researchers, breeders, surveillance specialists, and early-career scientists to share progress, sharpen priorities, and strengthen the partnerships that protect one of the world’s most critical staple crops.

An exciting opportunity is open at Aarhus Universitet in Denmark. The Department of Agroecology is seeking a Professor of Epidemiology/Pathology for Agricultural Crop Plants to join the Global Rust Reference Center (GRRC), a leading center focused on plant pathogen biology, epidemiology, and disease prevention in the context of variable environmental conditions and climate change.

Please share widely with your networks and consider applying.

Professor in Epidemiology/Pathology for Agricultural Crop Plants - Ledig stilling på Aarhus Universitet Ledig stilling ved Institut for Agroøkologi - Plantepatologi og Mikrobiologi, Aarhus Universitet

Calling all early-career researchers! Know someone doing standout work in wheat disease research, or want to nominate yourself? Submit a nomination for the 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT Awards by 23 February.

Nominations Now Open: 2026 WIT Awards to Support Emerging Wheat Researchers - BGRI - Borlaug Global Rust Initiative Nominations are now being accepted for the 2026 Jeanie Borlaug Laube WIT awards honoring outstanding early-career scientists engaged in wheat research.