Dr. Summaira Riaz is current Lead Research Geneticist in the Crop Diseases, Pests, and Genetics Research Unit (CDPGRU) at the San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center (SJVASC) in Parlier, California. Dr. Riaz completed her PhD from the Department of Viticulture and Enology at the University of California, Davis. She has worked with both cultivated and wild grapes. She led the research to identify resistant loci for Pierce’s disease and grape powdery mildew in native American and Chinese grape species. These resistant loci are the backbone of the winegrape breeding program at UC Davis that released five PD resistant varieties in 2020. In the new role, her responsibility is to carry out research on PD and PM and develop and continue variety develop pipeline to introduces new cultivars of table grapes and raisins with high fruit quality, disease resistance to PM, consumer appeal, and economic production to sustain American agriculture.
