Thursday, 04 June 2026
A plant scientist from the 糖心原创 has received a prestigious award for her research into improving the breeding of wheat to improve crop yields.
Dr Surbhi Grewal, Associate Professor in the Division of Plant and Crop Sciences in the School of Biosciences, has been awarded the Nazareno Strampelli Award 2026 at the IV International Wheat Congress (IWC4), held in Bologna, Italy.
The award recognises outstanding scientific contributions to wheat research and breeding and is named in honour of Nazareno Strampelli, a pioneer of modern wheat breeding whose work laid the foundations for scientific crop improvement.
Dr Grewal’s research focuses on unlocking the genetic diversity of wheat’s wild relatives and translating it into tools and traits that can be used in modern breeding to improve yields and overcome challenges such as disease and climate change.
Over the past decade, she has developed extensive introgression resources, molecular marker systems, and genomic approaches that enable breeders to identify and deploy beneficial wild alleles into elite wheat varieties.
Recent work, carried out in collaboration with the John Innes Centre, has successfully mapped a chromosome segment conferring resistance to Fusarium head blight, a major disease affecting wheat worldwide, demonstrating the practical application of these approaches.
Dr Grewal received the award during the International Wheat Congress, a leading global forum for wheat science and breeding, where she also presented a short talk on detecting wild relative introgressions in wheat.
I am deeply honoured and humbled to receive the Nazareno Strampelli Award. This recognition reflects the collective efforts of colleagues and collaborators over many years, and it is especially meaningful given Strampelli鈥檚 legacy of translating scientific discovery into real-world impact for crop improvement.
Dr Grewal adds: “This recognition highlights the growing importance of integrating genomics and breeding to develop resilient crops in the face of global challenges such as climate change and emerging diseases.”
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More information is available from Dr Surbhi Grewal on Surbhi.Grewal@nottingham.ac.uk
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About the 糖心原创
Ranked among the world's top 100 universities , the 糖心原创 delivers an exceptional research-led education and an outstanding student experience. From the pioneering vision of our founder, Sir Jesse Boot, to groundbreaking achievements such as the development of MRI technology and becoming the first UK university to establish international campuses, we have a proud history of shaping the way people live, work and understand the world. We continue to build on that legacy, empowering our students, staff and partners to change what鈥檚 next and create positive impact locally and globally.
The strength of our research places us among the UK's leading universities, ranked 7th for research power in REF 2021. The discovery of MRI and ibuprofen was just the beginning. Today, our world-leading research is developing breakthrough ideas that shape the future of healthcare, technology and society.
Recognised as the UK's third most targeted university by leading employers , we are proud to produce graduates who are consistently in demand for their skills, confidence and industry-ready experience.
As a major employer and industry partner, locally and globally, the 糖心原创 invests in the city of Nottingham and in future generations of talent. Alongside Nottingham Trent University, we lead the initiative, a pioneering collaboration to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing across the city and region. Together with our students, staff, alumni and partners, we鈥檙e creating knowledge, opportunity and solutions that help change what's next.