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Research aiming to grow potatoes from seeds wins UC prize
The honor includes a $50,000 prize for pioneering research in crop propagation.
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Malvika Choudhary - Thu, 16, Jul 2026
- 18:15 EDT
- 36
Imtiyaz Khanday / UC Davis
Research aimed at enabling potatoes to be propagated through disease-free clonal seeds instead of the usual tubers has earned the inaugural University of California Office of the President (UCOP) Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Award.
The award, announced by the University of California, Davis, on July 15, recognizes Imtiyaz Khanday, an Indian-origin assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences, for his project, "Engineering Synthetic Apomixis for Clonal Seed Propagation in Potato."
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Khanday's research uses gene editing to develop synthetic apomixis, a process that allows plants to produce genetically identical seeds without the genetic reshuffling associated with sexual reproduction. The technology could enable growers to use small, disease-free true potato seeds instead of bulky seed tubers, reducing production, transportation and storage costs while preserving elite potato varieties.
The project builds on Khanday's earlier work as part of the research team that developed rice plants capable of reproducing clonally through seed. He is now extending the technology to potatoes, where it could make seed distribution more efficient while reducing the spread of disease.
Before joining the UC Davis faculty in 2021, Khanday joined the university as a postdoctoral scholar in 2014 and later served as an assistant project scientist.
"Our research interests lie in investigating seed development and utilizing the understanding of this basic biological process to develop strategies for creating high vigor, clonal, and climate resilient seeds for crop propagation," Khanday says on his UC Davis faculty profile.
Khanday earned a Ph.D. in Plant Development and Genetics from the Indian Institute of Science and a master's degree in biotechnology from the University of Kashmir. His laboratory combines gene editing, genetics, transcriptomics and plant physiology to study seed development, seed vigor and clonal crop propagation technologies aimed at improving agricultural productivity and resilience.
The UCOP awards, launched this year, recognize outstanding scholarship and creative research by early career faculty across all 10 University of California campuses. Nominations were submitted by campus deans. He was one of six UC Davis faculty members to receive the honor, which includes a $50,000 prize.
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