Javier Atayde, a Research Technician at CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research) is RIPE’s newest addition! Atayde will specifically develop protocols for cowpea transformation, generate putative transgenic plants, and screen material using molecular and physiological assays within the RIPE project. Atayde's contribution has an exciting impact since his main area of research is to develop transgenic cowpea plants containing genes for improved photosynthetic efficiency. Javier earned both a bachelor's of Agricultural Science and a bachelor's of Science at Charles Sturt University.