Cereals Innovation Lab Wheat Researcher Receives Iman Award

Eduard Akhunov, a principal investigator for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Cereals and director of the Wheat Genetics Resource Center at Kansas State University, recently received the Iman Outstanding Faculty Award for Research through the K-State Alumni Association.

Akhunov is a university distinguished professor of plant pathology in the K-State College of Agriculture. His research program focuses on studying the evolution of wheat diversity and contribution of wild relative introgression to local adaptation and crop improvement.

He received a Ph.D. in plant molecular biology from the Institute of Genetics in Russia in 1999 and a master’s degree in biochemistry from Novosibirsk State University in 1992. He began his career in genetics and diversity of wheat and its wild relatives during his postdoctoral research at the University of California, Davis. In 2007, he joined K-State as a professor of wheat genetics and pathology.

Akhunov and his team work to identify genes that enhance wheat resistance to pests and pathogens, improve drought and heat tolerance, and support the production of high-yielding crops with superior grain quality and nutritional value using genomics, molecular biology, genetics, gene editing and phenomics.

Akhunov received a $7,500 Iman Award in recognition of his outstanding research, along with Jessica Heier Stamm, associate professor of industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, who was recognized for excellence in teaching.

Introduced in 2007, the annual Dr. Ron and Rae Iman Outstanding Faculty Awards are sponsored by the K-State Alumni Association and are made possible through the generosity of Ron and Rae Iman.

To learn more about the 2026 recipients, visit the K-State Alumni Association.