DSc, docent Hamid Khazaei appointed as Associate Professor in Luke

Doctor of Science (DSc - AGR) and docent (Crop Science) Hamid Khazaei has been appointed to a 5-year position of Associate Professor of plant genomics and breeding at the Natural Resources Institute (Luke). Khazaei started on November 1, 2023.

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Before this appointment, Khazaei has worked as a Senior Scientist in Luke's Plant production group. Before joining Luke in summer 2022,  Hamid served as a scientist, educator, and plant breeder in Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America. He is passionate about crops, plant breeding, and genomics as tools to improve global protein security. 

– I'm honored and excited about my recent appointment as an Associate Professor in Plant Genomics and Breeding at Luke. This opportunity allows me to further delve into my passion for crop breeding and genomics and contribute to boreal and global food and protein security. I'm eager to take on the new challenges and responsibilities that come with this role and to start new projects in breeding and genomics, and to collaborate with many great people, Khazaei comments.

Faba bean leads the way to sustainable protein security

Khazaei's focus has been on grain legumes, as these have increasingly important roles in providing sustainable protein for food and feed in times of population growth and climate change. Faba bean is Hamid's pet plant. He has career-long international research and experience in faba bean breeding, genetics, and genomics. He has authored and co-authored many recent key publications on faba bean genetics and genomics in the past 10 years. 

According to Khazaei, faba bean has enormous potential to contribute globally to sustainable agriculture and protein security. It has a very efficient nitrogen fixation ability, the greatest among the grain legumes, that leads the crop to produce protein-rich seeds. The current global demand for chemical nitrogen fertilizer and the need for sustainable plant-based protein sources have made this crop attractive as part of the strategy to address these concerns, particularly in temperate regions. 

– Faba bean is also a key component of EU protein self-sufficiency strategies. Its reference genome has recently been decoded, paving the road to breed climate-smart varieties with improved seed quality properties. 

Khazaei has also worked on the genetic improvement of lentils, wheat, safflower, alfalfa, and tomato.

Addressing global challenges through Plant Breeding and Genomics

When asked by his future work as an Associate Professor in Luke, Khazaei brings up the challenges of what the world is facing from climate change to political instability, and food insecurity. These factors harm regional and global food security, where plant breeding and Genomics can make a significant difference.

– We will require more climate-resilient crop varieties with enhanced yield stability and quality traits. Additionally, we must consider new crops, as climate change is altering our agricultural landscape. Plant breeding and genomic tools can accelerate these efforts. These will include the development and demonstration of new breeding technologies (e.g. gene editing), uptake of genomic selection, development of cheaper and denser markers for marker-assisted selection, introducing (or creating) more diversity in our crops (pre-breeding) and gene discovery for biotic and abiotic resilience. As one of my primary responsibilities, I will be training the next generation of breeding and genomic scientists.

Khazaei has also recently been appointed to the Editorial Board for the Agricultural and Food Science journal (AFSci). AFSci publishes original research reports on agricultural and food research related to primary production and northern dimension. He also serves as an editorial board member for international journals in breeding and genomics such as Euphytica, Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, and Legume Science.

Khazaei will work in Luke's Production Systems unit. Anu Kaukovirta, Director of the unit is happy about the appointment.

– I am extremely happy that the long process of finding a new professor to lead our plant genomics and breeding research has finally reached a happy ending with Hamid Khazaei's nomination. This research theme is one of the growing areas at Luke. Due to climate change and extreme conditions in Finland, as well as the need for increased diversity in cultivated plants, the importance of plant breeding and the genomics behind it is continuously increasing. 

– Hamid's versatile experience in agricultural crops and deep expertise in faba beans, which are one of the main protein plants in the boreal area, will support our development targets and the implementation of Food Vision 2040. Hamid has very active international networks, and his close connections to research teams at the University of Helsinki will help us build a strong national competence node to support sustainable plant production in Finland, Kaukovirta adds. 

Research professors are key to Luke's scientific expertise and international visibility and impact. The aim is to ensure excellence in research for Luke in strategic areas, as well as its usefulness to business life and industry.