Kripa Rijal

Bio

Kripa Rijal is a Ph.D. student in Tim Kelliher’s lab, where she works on the development of cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) wheat lines to support hybrid wheat breeding. She holds an M.S. in Plant Sciences from North Dakota State University with a focus on plant breeding and genetics. Her previous research involved marker-assisted breeding, QTL introgression, and pyramiding for Fusarium Head Blight resistance in wheat.

Her doctoral research integrates reproductive biology, molecular genetics and plant transformation approaches to establish stable CMS systems and improve the efficiency of hybrid wheat production. She is particularly interested in bridging fundamental genetic research with applied breeding to develop practical tools for sustainable crop improvement.