Gebisa Ejeta (born 1950) is an

Ethiopian American Ethiopian Americans are Americans of People of Ethiopia, Ethiopian descent, as well as individuals of American and Ethiopian ancestry. The largest Ethiopian American community is in the Ethiopians in Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C. metropolita ...

plant breeder,

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

and Professor at

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

. In 2009, he won the

World Food Prize The World Food Prize is an international award recognizing the achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world. Conceived by Nobel Peace Prize laureate No ...

for his major contributions in the production of

sorghum ''Sorghum bicolor'', commonly called sorghum () and also known as great millet, broomcorn, guinea corn, durra, imphee, jowar, or milo, is a species in the Poaceae, grass genus ''Sorghum (genus), Sorghum'' cultivated for its grain. The grain i ...

Early years

Ejeta was born in the remote village Wollonkomi,

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

to Oromo parents. Encouraged by his mother, he walked 20 kilometres to the nearest elementary school every Sunday evening and spend the week there. During primary school, Ejeta planned to study engineering when he reached college age. However, his mother convinced him he could do more working in agriculture. With assistance from the

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

, he attended an agricultural and technical secondary school in

, and also studied at what is now

Haramaya University Haramaya University (HU) (; Oromo: ''Univarsiitii Haramayaa'') is a public research university in Haramaya, Oromia Region, Ethiopia. It is approximately east of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Ministry of Science and Higher Education admits qualif ...

. The university and the U.S. Agency for International Development helped him earn a doctorate from

. Working in

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

during the early 1980s, Ejeta developed Africa's first commercial hybrid variety of sorghum tolerant to drought. Later, with a Purdue University colleague in Indiana, he discovered the chemical basis of the relationship between the deadly parasitic weed

striga ''Striga'', commonly known as witchweed, is a genus of parasitic plants that occur naturally in parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia. It is currently classified in the family Orobanchaceae, although older classifications place it in the Scrophul ...

and

, and was able to produce sorghum varieties resistant to both drought and striga. In 2011 President Barack Obama appointed Gebisa Ejeta as Member, Board for International Food and Agricultural Development. The

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral science, behavior ...

was awarded to Ejeta by

President Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice president from 2009 to 2017 and re ...

in 2023.

Awards

* 2023

for "outstanding contributions to the science of plant genetics."

Publications

Ongom, Patrick O. and G. Ejeta. 2018. Mating design and genetic structure of a multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench). G3 Genes/Genomes/Genet. 8(1):331-341. Ongom, Patrick O., J. Volenec, G. Ejeta. 2016. Selection for drought tolerance in sorghum using desiccants to simulate post-anthesis drought stress. Field Crops Research. 198(2016): 312-321. Gobena, D., M. Shimels, P. Rich, C. Ruyter-Spira, H. Broumeester, S. Kanuganti, T. Mengiste, and G. Ejeta. 2017. Mutation in sorghum, LOW GERMINATION STIMULANT 1 alters strigolactones and causes Striga resistance. Proc. National Acad. Sci. 114(17): 4471-4476 Saballos, A., G. Ejeta, E. Sanchez, C. Kang, and W. Vermerris. 2009. A genome-wide analysis of the cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase family in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) identifies SbCAD2 as the brown midrib6 gene. Genetics 181:783-795. Vogler, R., T. Tesso, K. Johnson, and G. Ejeta. 2009. Effect of allelic variation on forage quality of brown midrib sorghum mutants. African J. of Biochem. 3(3):70-76. Peters, P., M. Jenks, P. Rich, J, Axtell, and G. Ejeta. 2009. Mutagenesis, selection, and allelic analysis of epicuticular wax mutants in sorghum. Crop Sci. 49:1249-1258. Saballos, A., W. Vermerris, L. Rivera, and G. Ejeta. 2009. Allelic association, chemical characterization and saccharification properties of brown midrib mutants of sorghum (S. bicolor (L.) Moench). Bioenerg. Res. 1:193-204. Rich, P. J. and G. Ejeta. 2008. Towards effective resistance to Striga in African maize. Plant Signaling & Behavior 3:9, 618-621. Amusan, I. O., P. J. Rich, A. Menkir, T. Housley, and G. Ejeta. 2008. Resistance to Striga hermonthica in a maize inbred line derived from Zea diploperennis. New Phytologist 178:157-166. Knoll, J. E. and G. Ejeta. 2008. Marker-assisted selection for early season cold tolerance in sorghum: QTL validation across populations and environments. Theor. Appl. Genet.116:541-553.

References

External links

Ethiopian American Wins 2009 World Food Prize Gebisa Ejeta developed drought-tolerant, parasite-resistant sorghumDr. Gebisa Ejeta - Purdue University Department of Agronomy Purdue plant breeder, geneticist receives 2009 World Food PrizeSorghum researcher wins World Food Prize
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ejeta, Gebisa 1950 births Living people Ethiopian academics Ethiopian scientists Fellows of the African Academy of Sciences Ethiopian emigrants to the United States Purdue University faculty American food scientists American geneticists Sorghum Oromo people People from Oromia Agriculture and food award winners