Scientific Committee

A core aspect of Dr. Ford’s work is her interface role: translating between academic partners, industry-funded research governance, and practice-facing audiences. She focuses on maintaining scientific integrity throughout the research lifecycle—from prioritization and protocol development through interpretation—so that communications and claims remain appropriately supported by the totality of evidence.

Prior to joining the Avocado Nutrition Center, Dr. Ford was involved in medical research at The University of Texas at Austin and held an adjunct faculty appointment at Texas State University. Dr. Ford earned a B.S. in Animal Bioscience from The Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Nutritional Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, along with a certificate in business management. She is a board member of the Foundation for Fresh Produce, has served in leadership roles with the American Society for Nutrition, and convenes a scientific advisory board to guide research priorities and scientific standards. She has chaired conference sessions, regularly participates in peer review, and engages with the scientific community through professional presentations and publications.

As an active International Society for Horticultural Science member, she served the Society from 2010-2018 as a Council member representing South Africa and subsequently until present, as the Chair of the ISHS Division Tropical and Subtropical Fruits and Nuts. In these Society capacities she has also Convened and/or been a Scientific Committee member of various National and International Symposia.

Having almost 30 years’ experience in the field of horticultural science, Dr. Hannweg was project leader of various research projects ranging from ex vitro and in vitro propagation technologies for several tropical and subtropical crops and indigenous plants, induced polyploidy and flow cytometry studies for breeding and improvement programmes of many tropical and subtropical crops as well as indigenous plants, scion-rootstock interactions in litchi and macadamia. post-harvest research on selected macadamia disorders as well as post-harvest vase-life of several cut flower varieties, endangered species conservation programmes as well as being one of the initiators of the multiple award-winning Timbali Technology Incubator which seeks to develop emerging growers in the agricultural sector. Dr. Hannweg is also involved in book and report editing, abstract and manuscript reviews and as external examiner for various post-graduate theses in the field of horticultural science.

I have coordinated more than 50 national and international research projects and over 60 contracts with the private sector, resulting in more than 200 publications in journals and books (more than 160 of them in SCI journals) and more than 130 invited conferences in different countries. The publications of my group have had significant impact in two major areas of plant biology, reproductive biology and genetic diversity and germplasm conservation. Thus, the works on reproductive biology have contributed to identify the main bottlenecks at the reproductive level that limit fertilization and fruit production in both temperate and tropical fruit crops. In addition, an important part of my scientific career has been devoted to study the in situ and ex situ diversity in several fruit crops with a high impact in understanding their extant diversity as well as the movement and conservation of germplasm. The international activities have had an additional impact in research for development. A high number of the projects have been made in collaboration with colleagues from low and middle income countries with a high impact in utilizing the results of the research performed in my group to improve the living conditions of small scale farmers in different American and African countries.

As a trained plant virologist, her primary focus is on pests and diseases that impact avocado, citrus, banana, and macadamia crops. Her current research interests include identifying plant diseases, understanding their epidemiology and spread, developing detection assays, and examining spatial distribution patterns, management strategies and insect-pathogen interactions. Her research on avocados spans more than a decade, concentrating on the avocado sunblotch viroid, understanding the viroid, and its management strategies. She believes that collaboration is essential for gaining an in-depth understanding of science. Her involvement in collaborative research has led to multiple peer-reviewed publications, presentations at both national and international conferences, and the establishment of strategic research partnerships. She is eager to participate as a member of the WAC 2027 Scientific Committee.

Through collaboration with the industry, he has generated foundational information regarding the identification, management, and impact of diseases affecting this crop in Colombia across all links in the value chain, as well as other fundamental aspects for the sustainable development of this crop under tropical conditions. This information has been documented and published in more than 100 scientific articles. His research focuses on integrated plant disease management, bio-modeling, geographic information systems, phytoepidemiology, data science, and artificial intelligence for the design of sustainable management strategies and the analysis of populations under conditions of variability and climate change in agricultural systems at different time-space scales, as a basis for evidence-based decision-making and the use and adaptation of new technologies in the agricultural sector.

Dr. Gil has extensive experience in avocado (Persea americana) production systems, including irrigation scheduling, plant water relations, physiological responses to environmental stress, and strategies to enhance orchard productivity and sustainability under water-limited conditions. Her work also encompasses vineyard and fruit crop physiology, sustainable irrigation practices, and the integration of advanced monitoring and phenotyping tools for agricultural research.

She has led and collaborated on numerous national and international research projects, contributing to the development of climate-resilient agricultural systems in Mediterranean and semi-arid regions. Dr. Gil has also contributed to several influential scientific publications on avocado production and physiology, including chapters on irrigation and nutrition, and ecophysiology in the latest edition of Avocado: Botany, Production and Uses, one of the leading reference books in the field. Her research combines field experimentation, digital agriculture, sensor technologies, and decision-support tools to improve resource-use efficiency and support sustainable crop production.

Dr. Ochoa holds a B.S. in Agronomic Engineering with a major in Agricultural Parasitology from UMSNH, a specialization in Diagnosis and Control of Agricultural and Forest Pests from the Colegio de Postgraduados, and a Ph.D. in Agricultural Sciences from the Universidad Autónoma de Nayarit.

Throughout his career, he has actively contributed to avocado research, academic leadership, and international events. He is a member of the Academic Core for the Master’s Program in Biological Sciences (Plant-Microorganism-Insect Interactions), the Interdisciplinary Avocado Research Group, the National Avocado Network (Sistema Nacional de Recursos Fitogenéticos), and an active member of the Mexican Society of Plant Pathology. Additionally, he served as President of the Scientific Committee for both the IX World Avocado Congress (Colombia, 2019) and the VI Latin American Avocado Congress (Guatemala, 2021).

As a speaker at scientific events, Dr. Ochoa has presented his research in Mexico, the United States, Spain, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Peru, Australia, and New Zealand. He is the author of several peer-reviewed articles in specialized journals, as well as 3 books on avocado pests, diseases, and postharvest management.
He actively serves as an international technical advisor consultant in phytopathology, phytosanitary management, and postharvest pathology for major agricultural exporters across Latin America.

He earned his PhD in Plant Sciences from the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he studied gibberellin signaling and the redox functions of GASA proteins. During his postdoctoral research at MIGAL, he established pomegranate peel cell cultures for producing health-promoting bioactive compounds. Dr. Rubinovich has authored or co-authored more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific articles and is an inventor on intellectual property related to plant cell culture, frost-resilient avocado material, avocado micropropagation, and green quinoa. His translational work in avocado micropropagation contributed to the establishment of the Israeli agri-tech companies AgroCulture Ltd. and BesTree Ltd.

Throughout her career, Dr. van Rooyen has been privileged to work across the entire avocado value chain—from orchard to consumer. Through Westfalia’s global operations, she has travelled extensively across avocado-producing regions in Africa and South America, as well as ripening and marketing facilities in Europe. Working with diverse production systems, environments, cultures, and markets has broadened her scientific perspective and reinforced the importance of understanding how upstream decisions influence downstream fruit quality, handling, and consumer satisfaction. This holistic, internationally informed approach continues to shape her research and her passion for connecting science with practical industry outcomes.