•lifetime achievement•

Education:  PhD, Masters, University of Minnesota; Diploma in Genetic Resources, University of Birmingham (UK); Agronomic Engineer, Republic University (Uruguay)

For Dr. Tabaré Abadie, 45-years in academia and industry grew from humble beginnings. Starting as a wheat and barley breeder in his native Uruguay, he has inspired thousands of students, scientists, and professionals and has had a direct impact on closing the food security gap for all of humanity.  

Along the way he became an expert in plant breeding and quantitative genetics as well as technological change in large organizations, career development, education and mentoring, taking leadership roles in several professional and scientific societies. 

As a wheat and barley breeder and professor of Plant Breeding at University of Uruguay, Dr. Abadie developed eight successful wheat and barley varieties with an average market share of 80 percent near the end of the last century, while developing core collections for barley, maize, cassava and rice across the South American continent and publishing the results for a scientific and global public audience.

Migrating to the private sector, Dr. Abadie developed, and adopted revolutionary and transformational technologies that have significantly reshaped and changed how crops are bred today. 

While continuing his scientific and technical research, he began to strategically connect and mentor peers, employees, and students in an initiative that ended up on the globally recognized Plant Sciences Symposia Series (PSSS), a transformative model of public-private engagement that has reached more than 30,000 students from 60 universities in 16 countries.  For this effort, Dr. Abadie received the Extraordinary Service to Plant Breeding Community award from Iowa State University.

At DuPont Pioneer, he led a large multinational group responsible for the deployment of molecular breeding across species globally, and built an internal and external educational and career development environment to meet the needs of a research organization of 5,000 people worldwide. His Plant Sciences Symposia Series has been presented at more than 70 universities and centers on five continents to empower students to develop professional and educational skills. 

Most recently with Corteva Agriscience, where he leads the Global Talent Acquisition for Plant Breeding, Dr. Abadie has also complemented his technical abilities with concrete initiatives in Inclusion, Diversity and Equity (IDE), advocating to effectively close any gaps of inclusion by embracing and respecting diverse backgrounds and experiences. 

To be sure, he brings empathy, respect, and common sense to any project he undertakes.  Of particular note is Dr. Abadie’s leadership on Corteva’s Developing Emerging LeaTalent in Agriculture (DELTA) symposium, which is a main venue to recruit and support scientific talent from underrepresented minorities.

Winner of a host of awards and more than 70 published scientific papers, Dr. Abadie is a true visionary leader in the field of agriscience, serving as a day-to-day role model for his students and colleagues, a well-rounded and value grounded scientist, professional and human being working to improve food security for the greater good of all humanity.