Dr. Menachem Assaraf has been nominated as the IPI Coordinator for China and India, effective from May 2008. Dr. Assaraf is taking the position of Dr. Patricia Imas who recently went on maternity leave after many productive years of coordination experience in the regions.

Dr. Assaraf, 44 years old and married with three children, was born in Morocco but grew up in Israel. He currently lives close to Beer Sheeva in the Negev desert, and works as a Research and Business Development Manager for Agrochemicals, at ICL-Industrial Products. Dr. Assaraf is responsible for numerous multinational, large- and medium-scale projects of new product development. In this work he is cooperating with various research and development organizations, including universities, laboratories, extension specialists, growers, dealers, regulators, and others.

Dr. Assaraf completed his BSc, MSc and PhD at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Plant Protection. His MSc thesis focused on "The Enhanced Microbial Degradation of the Fungicide Benomyl (Benlate) in Soil". His PhD thesis, supervised by Prof. Y. Katan with Dr. C. Ginzburg, covered "The Weakening Effect of Sensitive and Thermo-tolerant Biotype Propagules of the Pathogen Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. niveum by Sublethal Stress Agents”.

While working on his PhD, Dr. Assaraf also undertook teaching responsibilities and gained recognition on several occasions for his scientific achievements. In 1994 he was awarded Ben-Gurion and the Pazner and Jocheedson Foundation Awards for excellence in his PhD studies. In 1997 he also gained awards in recognition of his work from the British Council and Baron De Hirsch Foundations. He has published in a number of scientific journals and is a member of the American and Israeli Phytopathological Societies. Dr. Assaraf also has several patents on his name, as well as in partnership with others, for soil fumigants and an environmentally-friendly pesticide that controls plant parasitic nematodes in various crops.

With this valued knowledge and expertise, we warmly welcome Dr. Assaraf to IPI and to him assisting us in our activities in China and India.