Last month, the AGBT Agricultural Meeting was held in Phoenix, Arizona. The conference is focused on agricultural genomics—plant and animal genetics. During the meeting, the recipients of the 2026 Next Gen Leadership Awards were announced.

These awards recognize outstanding early-career scientists and graduate students whose work and potential are shaping the future of agricultural genomics, including advances in plant and animal genomics. Award recipients receive financial support to attend and present their research at the AGBT Agricultural Meeting, with opportunities to engage with leaders in the field and build connections across the genomics community.

“These awardees reflect the strength and diversity of emerging talent in agricultural genomics,” said Sarah Hearne, PhD, chief science and innovation officer at CIMMYT and co-chair of the AGBT Agriculture Scientific Organizing Committee. “AGBT Agriculture plays an important role in bringing these scientists into conversation with leaders across the field, helping accelerate the translation of genomics into practice.”

The awardees represent rising leaders in agricultural genomics, advancing research across genomic variability, genetic analysis, molecular diagnostics, pathogen surveillance, and quantitative trait genomics to improve crop performance, strengthen food safety, and advance sustainable agriculture.

“This award represents a transformative opportunity to grow as a scientist and contribute more effectively to innovation in animal breeding,” said Larissa Bordin Temp, a 2026 Next Gen Leadership Award recipient.

The 2026 AGBT Agricultural Meeting Next Gen Leadership awardees were:

• Boris ME Alladassi, PhD: postdoctoral research associate at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  • Research focus: Connecting the evolutionary and statistical views of epistasis in quantitative trait genomics
• Mythri Bikkasani: graduate student at Punjab Agricultural University, India
  • Research focus: Connecting the dots: from high-throughput feed phenotyping to genomic dissection of heterosis in maize
• Larissa Bordin Temp: graduate student at São Paulo State University, Faculty of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences
  • Research focus: Genomic evaluation of rump fat–adjusted residual feed intake in zebu cattle: implications for selection strategies
• Lauren Johnson: graduate student at Gluck Equine Research Center, University of Kentucky
  • Research focus: Functional introgression within the horse mhc genes
• Mehak Kapoor: graduate assistant at Iowa State University
  • Research focus: Cell-type resolved gene expression signatures to identify and predict persistent PRRSV infection
• Pedro Nuñez Romano, PhD: postdoctoral researcher at Universitat Politècnica de València
  • Research focus: Integrating technology to refine the estimation of social genetic effects in pigs
• Viona Osei: graduate student at Tuskegee University
  • Research focus: Exploiting genomic variability in Listeria for the development of molecular diagnostic markers
• Kyungyong Seong, PhD: postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Davis
  • Research focus: Resurrection of the plant immune receptor Sr50 to overcome pathogen immune evasion
• Jade van Wijk: graduate student at Earlham Institute
  • Research focus: Using airborne DNA sequencing to monitor sporulation, infection and relative abundance of cereal rust fungi

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