Sebastian Toro Arana

The pace of crop improvement has unfortunately not been sufficient to meet the ever-increasing demands of the growing worldwide population, especially in light of the increasingly changing climate and diminishing resources. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new framework to crop breeding that is interdisciplinary in nature. My research focuses on creating an approach that uses modern biotechnology with the help of advanced computational methods to contribute to global food security by maintaining plant growth and productivity in increasingly stressful climates. My research proposes to build upon and integrate several scientific disciplines. First, advancement of computational genomics through the development of better methods to probe genetic sequences of plants. Second, improvement of modern biotechnology through precision gene editing techniques. All these exciting advances could make breeding much more targeted and more customizable, efficient, and sustainable. The importance of agriculture in our society and the challenges it faces with climate change make this innovative and interdisciplinary proposal extremely beneficial on a global scale.