Alemayehu is a Forage Genebank Manager at the International Livestock Research since September 2024. Prior this assignment, Alemayehu served in various capacity at ILRI such as an interim Forage Genebank Manager, Germplasm health coordinator, Research Officer and laboratory supervisor within the Forage Genebank and Forage Diversity teams for more than nine years. His research focuses on studying genetic diversity, management and subsetting of collections, identification of duplicates, genome-wide association studies and field evaluation of genebank collections. He is interested in leveraging modern genomic, phenotyping and bioinformatics tools for better genebank management, selecting high-yielding and climate-resilient genotypes from genebank collections, exploring the role of genebanks in climate change adaptation and mitigation and capacity building of next generation professionals on plant genetic resources conservation and utilization.
Before joining ILRI, he worked for the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research as a plant biotechnology researcher for five years. Alemayehu has authored and co-authored several publications on crop genetic resources studies and genebank management. He holds a PhD in Plant Biotechnology (Natural Science) and MSc in International Horticulture (major in Plant Biotechnology) from Leibniz Universität Hannover, Germany, and BSc in Horticulture from Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia. He also has Diplôme D’initiation à La Recherche Scientifique from University of Tours, France.
Expertise
- · Genebank operations
- · Forage diversity and evaluation.
- · Plant Biotechnology
- · Population/molecular genetics
- · Genetic data analysis
- · Plant/seed health
My Publications
Comparative seed longevity study to customize monitoring intervals for seed viability test in Megathyrsus maximus
Breaking dormancy in Macroptillium and Clitoria species for routine viability monitoring of genebank collections
