Professor Tofazzal Islam is the Dean of the Faculty of Gradiuate Studies & Founding Director of the Institute of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (IBGE) at Gazipur Agricultural University (GAU), Bangladesh. An esteemed academic, he holds BScAg/MSc(Ag) (Gold Medalist) from BAU and MS/PhD (with Distinction) in Applied Biosciences from Hokkaido University. He has held prestigious postdoctoral fellowships, including JSPS, Alexander von Humboldt, Commonwealth, and Fulbright. His expertise lies in frontier sciences—notably genomics and genome editing—applied to developing climate-smart agrobiotechnology.
Dr. Islam pioneered the establishment of the IBGE with state-of-the-art laboratories and has secured over $10 million in internationally competitive grants (from agencies like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, World Bank, and BBSRC/FCDO). His groundbreaking research contributions include:
- Investigating and addressing the 2016 wheat blast outbreak using field pathogenomics.
- Developing a CRISPR technology-based rapid diagnostic method for the wheat blast fungus.
- Decoding the entire genome of a year-round fruiting jackfruit.
- Discovering over 50 novel bioactive secondary metabolites from marine and terrestrial organisms.
Prof. Tofazzal’s work is highly recognized, with approximately 15,800 citations and an impressive h-index of 62. He holds esteemed editorial roles and is an elected Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) and the American Phytopathological Society (APS), among others. Dr. Islam is a recipient of numerous accolades, including the Bangladesh Academy of Sciences Gold Medal and the Commonwealth Innovation Award, and is frequently invited to deliver plenary and keynote lectures at international congresses worldwide.