David Van Sanford Wins 2025 USWBSI Lifetime Award

By Blake Jackson

David Van Sanford, professor and wheat breeding specialist in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences at the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, has been named the 2025 recipient of the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative (USWBSI) Lifetime Achievement Excellence Award.

This prestigious honor recognizes individuals with over 20 years of impactful work addressing Fusarium head blight (FHB), a destructive disease affecting wheat and barley across the U.S. The award was presented at the National FHB Forum on Dec. 7 in Denver, Colorado.

“I was thrilled, honored and humbled to be selected for this award. There are so many great scientists in the US Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative that I couldn’t imagine I was even in the running. It means a great deal to me because research on FHB has been the centerpiece of our breeding program since the late 1990s,” Van Sanford said. “Beyond that, I believe the Initiative has succeeded in fulfilling its purpose because all of its scientists understand that our efforts must benefit the farmers, millers, bakers, maltsters, brewers and distillers. Everyone buys into that ethic, and it has led to a very strong collaborative effort.”

Van Sanford, who joined UK in 1981, leads the wheat breeding project focusing on soft red wheat for Kentucky and the Mid-South. His work has advanced FHB resistance, improved nitrogen use efficiency, and enhanced climate resilience, resulting in cultivars such as Pembroke 2014 and 2016, as well as scab-resistant germplasm.

Bradley noted Van Sanford’s collaborative efforts with growers, industry stakeholders, and end users. “Van Sanford is deserving of this award for his extraordinary contributions to wheat breeding, his enduring research on Fusarium head blight resistance and his tireless dedication and lasting influence on both the scientific community and agricultural production,” he said.

Van Sanford has also mentored 33 graduate students, chaired key national committees, and contributed more than 100 peer-reviewed publications.

Rebecca McCulley, chair of the UK Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, added, “The USWBSI Lifetime Achievement Excellence Award celebrates Van Sanford’s enduring impact on wheat breeding, his visionary leadership, and his unwavering commitment to improving crop resilience and farmer livelihoods.”

Photo Credit: university-of-kentucky