Harmeet Chawla

Dr. Harmeet Chawla is a Professor in the Department of Plant Science at the University of Manitoba's Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences. His research leverages genomic, bioinformatics, and genetic engineering approaches to design climate-resilient crops for Canadian agriculture, with emphasis on accelerating high erucic acid rapeseed breeding and advancing genomic resources for wheat and oat improvement.

Education:

• PhD, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
• M.Sc., Justus Liebig University Giessen, Germany
• B.Tech, Amity University, Noida, India

Dr. Chawla's research spans plant genomics and bioinformatics for crop improvement, focusing on genome assembly/annotation of wheat, barley, oats, and Brassica species. Current projects target high-protein canola development, Fusarium Head Blight resistance in durum wheat, and Canadian oat genome assemblies. His work integrates long-read sequencing and computational pipelines to dissect structural variation and complex traits in polyploid crops.

Analysis of his 2020-2025 publications reveals consistent innovation in pangenome construction, disease resistance gene cloning (e.g., Yr84, Pm69), and drought tolerance mechanisms. Key themes include wheat stripe rust resistance, canola structural variation, and computational tool development (e.g., TRITEX pipeline), demonstrating leadership in genomic-assisted breeding for sustainable agriculture.

Scientific awards: No awards mentioned in available information.

Dr. Chawla teaches PLNT 4310: Introductory Plant Genomics. While specific students aren't listed, his active research projects indicate graduate student mentorship in plant genomics. Grant activities likely support genomic crop improvement initiatives, though specific funding sources aren't detailed.

His laboratory operates within the Plant Science Building at the University of Manitoba, utilizing advanced sequencing technologies and bioinformatics to advance Canada's high erucic acid rapeseed program and broader polyploid crop genomics research through collaborative projects with breeding programs.