My academic journey (briefly): From ‘Taat (jute mats) school’ to professor at one of the top universities in the US! Published in Forbes
میرا تعلیمی سفر (مختصر طور پر): ٹاٹ اسکول سے لے کر امریکہ کی ایک اعلیٰ یونیورسٹی میں پروفیسر بننے تک!
Yeah … Our paper got accepted! We conducted years of research, spent countless hours to analyze, interpret, & write the manuscript. Editors & reviewers voluntarily spent their time ensuring its quality. Now, we need to pay $4,430 so that you can read it. Isn't that ridiculous?
It’s official! Promoted with Tenure
@Cornell
🎉
Wouldn’t have been possible w/o postdocs, students, collaborators, colleagues & my wife.
Amazing journey from remote village in Kashmir to Ivy League university; only possible because of my father! Wish I could share this with him
We did it! After years of tireless efforts, CRISPR has finally borne fruit: 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐨! This innovative hybrid of apples & potatoes boasts the taste of a Granny Smith with the versatility of a Yukon Gold. Don't tell the potato lobby, but early taste tests are promising.
@Buckhout_Bull
I have funds but I will not pay!
$4,300 for open access article is not justified. Journals don’t pay a penny to authors, reviewers, & editors! Making an article OA does not cost much to a journal. I serve/ed on several editorial boards. Publishers have to rethink their OA policy
RT please!
Exciting postdoctoral scientist position is available in my lab at Cornell University to work on root biology, characterization of root system architecture, and genetic mechanisms of disease resistance in fruit trees.
My father, despite limited resources, lived an inspiring life. He was a strong advocate in the region for girls' education, starting with our family. His efforts have transformed the lives of many girls, providing them chance to achieve their full potential.
#HappyFarthersDay
all
Mountains of
#Apples
all over this town (Bozkir) in
#T
ürkiye. Never seen this scale before! These apples are being collected for sale to juice processors.
Genetic diversity & wild relatives of
#Apples
(Malus species) from at least 3 continents)! Genetic diversity in crops is fundamental to food & nutritional security & for sustainable agriculture.
How to cross pollinate
#Apples
. We are in the process of pyramiding multiple disease resistant genes from wild Malus species to develop disease resistant pre-breeding lines. Goal is
#nutritionalFoodSecurity
through sustainable fruit production!
#GeneticDiversity
Starting Sabbatical along Silk Route following domestication of apples & exploring cultures! Over next 5 months, I will be based in Nigde University & Fruit Research Institute in Egirdir 🇹🇷 & traveling in Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Jordan, & many more.
Genealogy of
#Apples
—- Genetic base of commercial apples is predominantly limited to 5 founder cultivars; Golden Delicious, McIntosh, Jonathan, Cox's Orange Pippin, Worcester Pearmain
#GeneticDiversity
Here is my advice for graduate applicants, based on personal experience. Beyond basic requirements like transcripts, tests, research & personal statements, the following👇🏾 are critical to maximize your chances of successful admission in the US graduate schools
#GraduateAdmissions
Will my fascination with
#GeneticDiversity
ever go away? This single picture takes me to the imagination and stories about nature, human history, & culture from east Asia, Central Asia to Caucasus, Europe to North America!
#CropWildRelatives
#Apples
Our wheat field in my village
#JammuAndKashmir
! When I was a child, my father used to plough it with oxen & he would ask me to sit between his legs on the wooden plank that was dragged by the oxen to help level the field. A memorable & cherished experience of falling in the dirt!
How many of you have seen Apple-Quince hybrid (Cydomalus) & how many of you have tasted it! I had opportunity to see Cydomalus at Aegean Agricultural Research Institute in Izmir Türkiye & and I will taste it later tonight🤩
#PlantBreeding
#PlantGenetics
#Cydomalus
Glad to see our Geneva
#Apples
rootstocks in the field in Badak, Türkiye. Bred by Cornell university & USDA-ARS; popular worldwide for disease resistance & many more traits! As part of the Geneva rootstock breeding team my research group provides leadership for disease resistance
Looking at this farmer plowing on the side of a bare mountain with his horse in
#T
ürkiye reminded me of times when my father & I plowed the fields with oxen. I admire farmers for their dedication & hard work to produce food for their families & all of us.
Hot off the press! We just got a new manuscript published describing a novel image‐analysis based leaf disc assay for the rapid evaluation of genetic resistance to
#FireBlight
in
#Apples
Apple's juvenile phase lasts 4-7 years. We shortened it to 6-9 months (3-4 fold) using an early flowering transgene
We have made a significant progress in developing disease-resistant lines from wild 🍎🍏 in just a few years
Resources & time use ⬇️
Sustainable 🍎 production👍
One week ago my father passed away. He was 94 years and had full inspiring life. He was strong advocate and a trendsetter in the region for education, particularly for girls.1/3
In our quest to understand the genetics of apple scab resistance, we assembled a chromosome-level phased genome of one of the
#Antonovka
#Apples
following our
#Honeycrisp
genome assembly last year.
In 2023, hoping to establish ”Justuju” fellowships to promote innovative research in life sciences, personally, with help from many. These will first be offered to students in Azad Jammu & Kashmir, with the hope to expand in future if more resources become available
#HappyNewYear
Diversity of local early
#Apples
at Green Bazar in Almaty,
#Kazakhstan
🇰🇿 ! ‘Aport’ apples, one of the oldest apple varieties (probably from Russia), thrive here, known for their exceptional size. 2nd pic., Top —> Bottom: Aport, Amerikanka?, Kandil Sinap, Limonca?, and Unsure?
I have just agreed to pay $2580 to publish an open-access article that we've dedicated years to researching and writing. The manuscript was also voluntarily reviewed by experts. It's frustrating, but I still want you to have free access to read it!
$2.5K = ~72K TRY = ~208K INR
This is one of our newly developed viney
#Apples
pre-breeding lines, and it's almost a year old. It has grown several feet as a vine. Don't you think these
#VineyTrees
could hold great potential for apple production in the greenhouses?
Research communication is important! Since our first manuscript on rapid decline of vigor & death of young
#Apples
trees in 2019, we secured funding, established collaborations & a multi-disciplinary team to study links btwn tree vigor-pathogens-roots 1/5
Nice to see our Geneva apple rootstocks advertised at International apple fair in Niğde, Türkiye. Bred by Cornell & USDA-ARS, they are popular worldwide! As part of the team, my research group provides leadership for disease resistance screening & selection for these rootstocks
Amazed by the diversity of
#Apples
growing at >3000masl & extreme environment in
#Skardu
,
#Hunza
&
#Gilgit
. Locals say these are Kachura Amri, Quetta Amri, Suspolo, Gohar Aman, Red delicious, Golden delicious. All had special colors and tastes from their unique growing conditions
@LeifBersweden
These are beautiful colors and shapes of wild relatives of
#Apples
from all over the world growing in our research orchard! How apples compare to oaks!!!
Another good morning! Postdoc in my lab got a fellowship award to work on 🍎 🍏 (more details later) ! If I had known this was our year, I would have applied for more 😄
So pleasant to relax on a handcrafted
#Charpoye
bed under a maple tree on a summer afternoon in
#UpstateNewYork
!
Birds chirping, and soothing breeze makes it more enjoyable especially when you have put it together yourself.
#Charpoy
#JammuKashmir
to
#NewYork
Charpoy project complete: Assembly and weaving was successfully done! Tried couple of weaving patterns and we are sticking with this one for now.
#Charpoy
assembly in
#UpstateNY
Diversity of fruit color & size in a genetic population (Malus sieversii x Gala)! Malus sieversii from Central Asia is a source of many valuable traits for apple breeding.
Greatly enjoyed today’s seminar on circular bionutrient economy by Professor Rebecca Nelson and her visit to our transgenic viny
#Apples
in the greenhouse!
I found this old bank account book of mine that reminds me of the time when my dad opened a bank account for me to teach me the importance of savings & financial management! Every now and then, he would hand me 10 to 100 rupees to deposit into the account.
We are organizing “Plant Disease Resistance” workshop at
#PAG30
. If you are staying until Wednesday, you are welcome to attend 5 excellent talks in Pacific E at 10:30 - 12:40pm.
Students & postdocs interested in my research program, please come see me.
See you soon in San Diego.
Professionals from Global South face a huge burden to work abroad & excel in their careers. The time & money lost at embassies to obtain visas & additional screening at airports is distressing & awful. I have gone through these nightmares for > 20 years!
Please RT: Exciting tenure-track position at Assistant /Associate professor level, to establish a vegetable breeding program, at School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University based in beautiful Ithaca, NY !
#PlantBreeding
#AcademicTwitter
This is how our map looks after 5 months of travel across
#T
ürkiye with family! Besides discussions on science with faculty & students at many institutions, we experienced incredible history, food, landscape & hospitality. Türkiye is so much more than a few tourist destinations!
Why do only a handful of
#Apples
, like Golden Delicious, Gala, Red Delicious, Fuji, & Idared, contribute over 50% of global apples production among 7,500 known apples? Would like to hear your thoughts!
We have tasted a rare Quince-Apple hybrid (Cydomalus) for the first time in Izmir 🇹🇷! It is dry and mealy with low sugar & no acidity. It could be suitable for cooking & baking but requires significant improvement for fresh eating, at least for my taste. Cydomalus has no seeds!
How many of you have seen Apple-Quince hybrid (Cydomalus) & how many of you have tasted it! I had opportunity to see Cydomalus at Aegean Agricultural Research Institute in Izmir Türkiye & and I will taste it later tonight🤩
#PlantBreeding
#PlantGenetics
#Cydomalus
During the last five months of my sabbatical, I visited/presented my research at more than 13 institutes/universities across
#Turkey
,
#Kyrgyzstan
,
#Kazakhstan
,
#Pakistan
, &
#Jordan
, engaging in stimulating discussions with both scientists & students.
Today was one for the books! Hiked Tien Shan Mountains
#Kyrgyzstan
at ~2,500 masl for 2 hrs seeking wild
#Apples
, the main progenitors of domesticated apples! Traveling to the mountain base in old Russian military vehicle w/local forester was an adventure. Finally, we found them!
Enjoyed a wonderful afternoon with Professor Mehmet Emin Çalışkan
@CaliskanME
, Dean Faculty of Agri Science at Nigde University. Delicious Turkish BBQ with his family at his beautiful home surrounded by fruit trees, vegetables! Our connection goes back to 🥔 from my time at CIP
After 5 days of attempting to get here! Finally we are waiting for our luggage at Islamabad international airport, Pakistan! Beautiful
#TruckArt
#IslamabadAirport
We established a new orchard
@CornellAgriTech
with ~300 different M. sieversii from Central Asia!
“This replicated orchard, the only one of its kind globally, will facilitate groundbreaking genetic research …” over the coming decades.