Dr. Allen Van Deynze is the Director of the Seed Biotechnology Center and Associate Director of the Plant Breeding Center at University of California, Davis. He has a Ph.D. in plant breeding from University of Guelph, Canada. As part of the SBC’s mission to serve as a liaison between public institutions and seed industry, Allen is responsible for developing, coordinating and conducting research and generating and disseminating scientific and informational content for the Seed Biotechnology Center’s and Plant Breeding Center’s educational and outreach programs. His research focuses on developing and integrating genomics into plant breeding of California and African crops. He has programs on breeding for biotic and abiotic stress and quality in pepper and spinach, and development and application of genomics in crops. He co-developed and is organizer/instructor for the Plant Breeding Academy(sm) and professional classes in plant breeding and genomics. He is the past chair of the US Plant Breeding Coordinating Committee and has been directly involved in International and National policy including US Regulations for Biotechnology and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. He is an instructor for the African Plant Breeding Academy; Scientific Director for the African Orphan Crops Consortium, and was an advisor to founding of African Plant Breeders Association.