Title Conference

“The conservation of the past aiming at the innovations of the future – the role of the Genebanks”

Vania Cristina Renno Azevedo has a PhD in Molecular Biology and a degree in Biology and Business Administration from the University of Brasilia (Brazil). In this same city, he worked from 2007 to 2018, in the Genetic Resources and Biotechnology Unit of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Company (EMBRAPA). His responsibilities include the coordination of more than 140 gene banks throughout Brazil and representing this country in the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture at the FAO. From 2018 to 2021 she was Genebank Manager at the CGIAR International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Zones (ICRISAT), in Hyderabad, India. From ICRISAT headquarters, he coordinated activities in India, Zimbabwe and Nigeria. As of 2021, she is leader of the Global Biodiversity for the Future Program and director of the CIP Gene Bank, being responsible for the acquisition, conservation, characterization and distribution of samples from the collections. in vitro of potatoes, sweet potatoes and Andean Root and Tuber Crops (ARTC) in the world, for the benefit of humanity.