Kuraparthy Receives 2021 Cotton Genetics Research Award
January 9, 2022 
Dr. Vasu Kuraparthy, Professor in the North Carolina State University Crop & Soil Sciences Department, is the 2021 Cotton Genetics Research Award recipient.
Kuraparthy received the award during the 2022 Beltwide Cotton Improvement Conference, which convened as part of the 2022 Beltwide Cotton Conferences in San Antonio, TX. Kuraparthy, who was selected by the Joint Cotton Breeding Committee, received a plaque and a monetary award.
Joshua Udall, Research Leader at the USDA-ARS Crop Germplasm Research Unit in College Station, TX, and chair of this year’s Improvement Conference, noted Kuraparthy’s role in leading innovative cotton genetics research projects in leaf shape, photoperiod sensitivity, and bacterial blight and in developing and releasing improved breeding material for regional producers.
“Dr. Kuraparthy developed a NAM population for cotton that will provide the genetic resources required to uncover the genetic basis of several key traits of cotton production,” said Udall. “This population will be used for basic genetic research in cotton for the next decade and beyond.”
In his nomination letter, Dr. Don Jones, Director of Breeding, Genetics, and Biotechnology for Cotton Incorporated, said that Kuraparthy has established a first-class cotton genetics program using a combination of traditional breeding and modern genomic tools at North Carolina State.
“Dr. Kuraparthy has released improved cotton germplasm, broadened its narrow genetic base, and published his results at a prolific pace,” pointed out Jones. “He has developed numerous genomic resources used by cotton researchers for basic as well as applied cotton research.”
Kuraparthy earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Agriculture and Plant Breeding from India’s ANGR Agricultural University and Punjab Agriculture University, respectively. He received his Ph.D. in Genetics from Kansas State University. He was a research assistant and research associate at Kansas State before joining North Carolina State’s Crop & Soil Sciences Department in 2008 where he served as both an assistant and associate professor before becoming a department professor in 2020.
Kuraparthy has mentored numerous undergraduate/graduate students and visiting scientists in advanced genetic and genomic technologies. For the past four years, he has served as associate editor for Crop Science, a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal covering agronomy, and The Plant Genome, a triannual peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of plant genomics. He also is a journal article reviewer for multiple scientific publications.
The annual Cotton Genetics Research Award was established in 1961 by U.S. commercial cotton breeders to recognize and encourage basic research in cotton genetics, cytogenetics, and breeding. It is administered by the Joint Cotton Breeding Committee consisting of representatives of the National Cotton Council, USDA, state experiment stations, Cotton Incorporated, and commercial breeders.
Based on information provided by the National Cotton Council
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