Gert Kema

 

Gert Kema is an authority on fungal diseases in wheat, particularly Zymoseptoria tritici that he researched for over two decades. Since 2006 he developed global research projects on Pseudocercospora fijiensis in banana with a focus on genomics with applications in fungicide resistance and host-pathogen interactions. He was PI on the genome project of this fungus and played a major role in accomplishing the banana genome project that was completed and published in 2012.

 

He currently coordinates major banana research programs – involving a range of PhD projects – on Fusarium wilt or Panama disease and black Sigatoka of banana and leads a public-private-partnership devoted to technical solutions for banana growers in the Philippines. He is a co-founder of two companies dealing with bio-materials and genetic improvement for disease resistance in banana. He is a frequent speaker at major international scientific meetings,  and is an author of more than 100 scientific papers and book chapters.

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Join Professor Kema on a trek through the forests of Saba to observe banana plant morphology and how to detect fungal infections early on.

 

We will be updating our calendar with activity dates and times as we continue to coordinate our event. Stay tuned!

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