Alison Bentley is the director of CIMMYT’s Global Wheat Program. She leads and manages a team of 40 international scientists who use scientific approaches to develop improved wheat germplasm. This germplasm is distributed to around 200 cooperators in wheat-producing countries worldwide, and is responsible for the derived varieties being grown on more than 50% of the spring wheat area in developing countries.
Prior to joining CIMMYT in November 2020, she was working in the UK focused on translation of fundamental scientific breakthroughs into tangible impacts for the agri-food sector. Her research combines genetics and genomics to develop and deliver new tools and technology to improve plant breeding and crop production. She has a doctorate in Agricultural Science and PhD in Agriculture from The University of Sydney, Australia.
