The CAES’s Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics (IPBGG) with the support of the Roger and Cindy Boerma Endowment, will host the inaugural lecture titled "Progress in improving resistance to soybean cyst nematode (SCN)." This lecture will feature Dr. Brian Diers, an internationally and nationally recognized soybean geneticist and breeder at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Diers is a fellow of the Crop Science Society of America, the American Society of Agronomy and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Charles Adlai Ewing Chair of Soybean Genetics and Breeding at the University of Illinois. His research focuses on improving disease and pest resistance, seed quality, and yield potential of soybean. His breeding program is developing non-GMO varieties for commodity and specialty markets with an emphasis on developing varieties with high oleic acid and low linolenic acid oil. He has received several awards including the Young Crop Scientist Award given by the Crop Science Society of America, the Paul A. Funk Recognition Award given by the College of ACES at the University of Illinois. Dr. Diers has authored and co-authored over 140 peer-reviewed publications and has mentored 25 graduate students and 13 postdoctoral researchers during his academic career.

The IPBGG’s Boerma Plant Breeding Lecture Series and Graduate student Award for Excellence are named for Dr. H. Roger Boerma, emeritus distinguished research professor and executive director of Georgia Seed Development. Dr. Boerma has made significant contributions to mankind through the development of new cultivars of soybean and has been a leader in developing organizations that ensure the training of future generations of plant breeders.