Kansas State University
Eduard Akhunov
PI – University Distinguished Professor
Dr. Eduard Akhunov is a University Distinguished Professor at Kansas State University and Director of the WGRC. He specializes in bread wheat genetics and developing new resources and tools for improving this vital crop. In his research, he uses next-generation sequencing technologies, bioinformatics, high-throughput phenotyping, molecular genetics and genome editing to develop germplasm with improved disease resistance, grain quality and yield potential. Akhunov joined K-State in 2007 and has advised 25 graduate students and postdoctoral scholars. His research has been supported by nearly $40 million in funding from organizations such as the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, the Kansas Wheat Commission and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His work also has resulted in more than 90 peer-reviewed papers, four book chapters, one patent and more than 100 speaking invitations. He serves on the editorial boards of two scientific journals. Akhunov earned a doctoral degree from the Institute of Genetics in Moscow. Before joining K-State, Akhunov was a researcher at the Institute of Biochemistry and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a project scientist at the University of California, Davis.