Barely a year after becoming a full professor at UPLB, Dr. Glenn B. Gregorio adds another feather to his cap.

The accomplished rice scientist was appointed as the new director of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) effective May 1, 2019.

Dr. Gregorio now leads SEARCA whose mandate is to strengthen institutional capacities toward inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia through its programs on graduate education, research and development, and knowledge management.

He is now on a three-year secondment at SEARCA, which has its headquarters in UPLB.

Prior to becoming a professor at the UPLB College of Agriculture and Food Science in late 2018, Dr. Gregorio first served the International Rice Research Institute for close to three decades (1986-2015).

He is the main scientist-plant breeder behind more than 15 rice varieties, most of which are salt-tolerant.

Dr. Gregorio later moved to East-West Seed Company, Inc. (2015-2018) and became its global breeding manager for corn, covering South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2018, he was bestowed the Academician title by the National Academy of Science and Technology.

He is also a recipient of The Outstanding Young Men and the Outstanding Young Scientist awards, both in 2004, and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Medal Award in 2012.

Dr. Gregorio earned all his degrees from UPLB-BS Agriculture in 1986, MS Plant Breeding in 1991, and PhD Genetics in 1997. (Mark Jayson E. Gloria, with information from www.searca.org)