Professor Pathmanathan Umaharan

Professor in Plant Science (Genetics, Plant Breeding, Biotechnology)

Subject Leader in Biology

staff listing

Contact Information

Department of Life Sciences
The University of The West Indies
St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago

Location:
Rm 320, 2nd Floor, Natural Sciences Building, Old Wing

Tel: 1(868) 662-2002 Ext.3108
Fax: 1(868) 663-9686

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Education:

• BSc (Agric) University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka (1982)
• Ph.D. (Genetics) The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine (1990)

Post-Doctoral and Fellowship Studies

• Research Fellow at the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California. Molecular Biology of Geminiviruses - 1 year (1996)
• International Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology. Plant Transformation methods - 6 weeks (1991)

Research Interests:

• Transformation of tropical crop species
• Genetic analysis of resistance to tropical diseases and resistance breeding
• Genetic diversity and plant genetic resource management

Current Graduate Students:

• Altman Ragoobarsingh (Ph.D) - Morphophisiological selection criteria related to yield in cowpea
• Helen Booker (Ph.D) - Genetic analysis of resistance to Cercospora leaf spot and its effect on yield in cowpea.
• Albada Beekham (M. Phil) - Genetic analysis of some pod quality traits in vegetable pigeonpea.
• Nigel Austin (M.Phil.) - Logging and the genetic variability of tree species
• Surendra Surujdeo-Maharaj (M.Phil) - Comparison of screening methods to assess witches broom resistance in cacao.
• Annelle Holder (M.Phil) - Developing a method of screening for resistance to a pseudomonad infecting Anthurium andreanum
• Ria Swarath (M.Phil) - Biolistic transformation and regeneration of sugarcane

Recent Publications:

• Umaharan, P. Ariyanayagam, R.P. and Haque, S.Q. (1997). Resistance to Cowpea Severe Mosaic virus, determined by three dosage dependent genes in Vigna unguiculata L. Walp. Euphytica 95: 49-55.
  
• Mohamed, El, M. Umaharan, P. and R.H. Phelps. (1997) The genetic nature of bacterial wilt resistance (C.A. Pseudomonas solanacearum E.F. Smith) in Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. Euphytica 96: 323-326.
  
• Iwaro, D. A., Umaharan, P. and Sreenivasan (1997). Genetic basis of foliar resistance to Phytophthora palmivora in cacao (Theobroma cacao L.). Euphytica
  97: 377-383.
  
• Umaharan, P., Padidam, M., Phelps, R.H., Beachy, R.N., and Fauquet, C.M. (1998). Distribution and Diversity of Geminiviruses in Trinidad and Tobago. Phytopathology 88: 1262-1268.
  

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