About Fertiseeds

Management

Dr. Shamay Izhar, Founder of the company and Director. Dr. Izhar invented FertiSeeds' core hybridization technology called "Exogenic Allelism". Professor of Genetics, Horticulture and Biotechnology, he received his Ph.D. in genetics from Cornell University. He served for thirty years as senior scientist at the Volcani Center heading various departments and as director of the Institute of Field and Garden Crops. He holds several professorships at American and British Universities as well as at academic institutions in Europe. Dr. Izhar founded the Center for Biotechnology and was its first chairman. He served as a member of the National Committee for Biotechnology. Dr. Izhar's major research areas are floral mechanisms and reproduction biology in plants. He invented and developed systems such as the petunia CMS, a unique hybridization technology for tomatoes and a novel floral type in strawberry called "Infra Short Day" (ISD). Respectively, Dr. Izhar holds many world-wide plant and utility patents. He has developed many early yielding strawberry varieties which are grown worldwide and he will head the strawberry breeding program in the company.

Dr. Talya Kunik, Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Kunik joined FertiSeeds in 2003. Spent three years at FertiSeeds as one of the R&D leading team members, then, became COO. Prior to her work with FertiSeeds she served as Lab Manager at the Ichilov Center, Tel-Aviv. She received her Ph.D. from the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Her Postdoctoral research was done at State University of New York, Stony Brook and at the Volcani Center Bet Dagan. Her research experience focused on: (i) DNA transport between bacteria and human cells and (ii) plant and viral molecular components involved at the plant nuclear import machinery.