Belay Ayele

Dr. Belay Ayele is a Professor in the Department of Plant Science at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. His research focuses on molecular mechanisms of plant hormones, seed biology, and abiotic stress tolerance in cereal crops.

• Education: PhD from University of Alberta; Postdoctoral Fellow at RIKEN Plant Science Center (Japan) and Iowa State University (USA)

Research interests include:

• Elucidating hormonal regulation of seed dormancy and germination
• Molecular basis of preharvest sprouting resistance
• Genomic approaches to improve cereal stress tolerance
• Transcriptional regulation of plant growth under environmental challenges

His recent work explores hormonal crosstalk in cereal crops (wheat, barley), emphasizing ABA/GA balance, jasmonate signaling, and stress adaptation. Publications span plant molecular biology, genomics, and bioenergy applications.