Short
Biodata Staff
profile

Name:

Yacouba Sere

Nationality:

Burkinabe

Position held:

Plant Pathologist

Year of Employment:

September 1997

Qualifications:

• Maitrise (BSc) in Biology from the University of Dijon in France in 1973 (Genetic and Plant Biology)
• Diploma of Ingenieur de Recherche from ORSTOM (France) in June 1975
• DEA (MSc) at the University of Paris X (Orsay) in Plant Breeding, focusing on resistance to plant diseases (October 1975)
• PhD in Plant Pathology from the University of Paris X (Orsay) focusing on genetic variability of plant pathogens (March 1977)
• Doctorat d’Etat University of Abidjan synthesizing more than ten year research on blast disease in Burkina Faso (July 1999)

Experience:

• Plant pathologist conducting research on: (i) Integrated management of Rice Yellow Mottle Virus in the lowland ecosystem in West Africa and (ii) Characterization of genetic diversity of Magnaporthe grisea and development of donors for durable blast resistance
• Leading the WARDA Plant Quarantine and Biosafety Unit and implementation of seed health research unit
• Chairing the WARDA internal biosafety committee
• Coordinating the IPM task force of the West and Central Africa Rice Research Network

Major Achievements:

• Generation of basic information on rice diseases pathogen diversity and management options for the main rice diseases in Africa, as evidenced by many publications in peer-reviewed journals, proceedings and posters
• Development of two promising new cultivars introducing a RYMV resistance gene into a susceptible released variety from Côte d’Ivoire (Séré et al. 2006)
• Development of a screening strategy for durable resistance to blast pathogen (Séré et al. 2004) that is currently used by some NARS partners to ensure stability to promising varieties
• Development a technique to identify and characterize RYMV isolates for resource poor research centers (Séré et al. 2005)
• Supervision of the construction of modern plant quarantine and containment facilities in West Africa
• Significant contribution in the development of biosafety regulation in Cote d’Ivoire
• Supervision, from 2000 to 2006, of 14 students (out of which 7 females) and organization of group training courses for over a 100 NARS scientists and research technicians covering rice disease diagnosis and management, GMO and biosafety issues