Teagasc has announced the appointment of a new cereals researcher in its Crops Science Department.
Dr. Atikur Rahman is a cereal scientist with a broad interest in cereal crop agronomy and stress physiology.
His new role is to lead the oats programme of research in Teagasc, where he will be working as part of the research team led by Dr. Ewen Mullins, head of the Crops Science Department.
Up to now, Dr. Rahman worked on the EU-funded INVITE project – which investigated strategies to limit economically important diseases of winter wheat – and, more recently, on the SusCrop ERA-NET funded ProFaba project in Teagasc.
In his work as a cereal scientist in Bangladesh, Dr. Rahman worked on agronomy, stress physiology, breeding and pathology of both rice and wheat.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University in Bangladesh, before then securing a Masters of Science in Biotechnology from South Asian University, New Delhi, India.
In 2020, Dr. Rahman was awarded a PhD from University College Dublin, working on a joint UCD-Teagasc collaboration in the Horizon 2020-funded CerealPATH Integrated Training Network project.
“I am delighted to join the Crop Science Department and passionate to work with the team of researchers, advisors and educators.”
Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Rahman said: “I’m excited about the future development of the oats industry and look forward to developing research-based solutions that assist growers so that the sector can expand in a manner that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.”
Dr. Rahman’s research team leader, Dr. Ewan Mullins, said: “Atikur will build on, and develop, the work that has been done in Teagasc to date on developing practical measures to support the agronomy of oats, while working with partners in the Food Programme to add value to what is an important crop in current rotations.
“We look forward to working with Atikur to prioritize the development of an ‘Oats Growers Guide’ in addition to completing trans-disciplinary research that promotes the economic potential of the crop for both farmers and processors,” Dr. Mullins concluded.