Andriy Bilichak

Research Scientist
I am leading a program on cereal biotechnology and functional genomics. The focus of the program is adoption of genome editing (CRISPR/Cas) and/or transient manipulation of gene expression methods to increase performance and output of small grain cereals (wheat, triticale, barley, etc.) in timely and cost-efficient manner.
Morden, Manitoba
Current research and/or projects
- Development of non transgenic genome editing methods to improve yield and stress tolerance in small grain cereals.
- Bioinformatic mining of transcriptional factors related to “green revolution” in wheat genome.
- Improvement of spring wheat transformation efficiency for functional genomics studies.
Education and awards
07/2013 Doctoral degree in Biomolecular Science/Plant Biotechnology from the University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
07/2008 B.Sc. (biology) with Great Distinctions, National Precarpathian University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine
05/2012 Alberta Innovates Technology Features Graduate Student Scholarship
Key publications
- Bilichak, A., L. Sastry-Dent, S. Sriram, M. Simpson, P. Samuel, S. Webb, F. Jiang and F. Eudes (2019). "Genome editing in wheat microspores and haploid embryos mediated by delivery of ZFN proteins and cell penetrating peptide complexes." Plant Biotechnol J.
- Bilichak, A., D. Gaudet and J. Laurie (2020). "Emerging Genome Engineering Tools in Crop Research and Breeding." Methods Mol Biol 2072: 165-181.
- Bilichak, A., J. Luu, F. Jiang and F. Eudes (2018). "Identification of BABY BOOM homolog in bread wheat." Agri Gene 7: 43-51.
- Bilichak, A. and I. Kovalchuk (2016). "Transgenerational response to stress in plants and its application for breeding." J Exp Bot 67(7): 2081-2092.
- Bilichak, A., J. Luu and F. Eudes (2015). "Intracellular delivery of fluorescent protein into viable wheat microspores using cationic peptides." Front Plant Sci 6: 666.
- Bilichak, A., Y. Yao and I. Kovalchuk (2014). "Transient down-regulation of the RNA silencing machinery increases efficiency of Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Arabidopsis." Plant Biotechnol J 12(5): 590-600.
Contact
Research facility
Route 100, Unit 100-101
Morden, MB R6M 1Y5
CanadaAffiliations
- The University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Associate member of the School of Graduate Studies
- Member of the Canadian Association for Plant Biotechnology
- Member of the Canadian Society of Plant Biologists
Language
English
Other languages
Ukrainian