Islam El-Sharkawy

Islam El Sharkawy

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
EMAIL
PHONE
850-599-8685
OFFICE
Land Grant Matching - 2001
Resume

Office Hours

Center for Viticulture, Room#104

Monday – Friday • 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

About Me

Dr. El Sharkawy is currently an Associate Professor of Grape Breeding & Fruit Crop Production at CVSFR/FAMU. Before joining FAMU, he worked in several universities, governmental laboratories, and non-profit organizations in France, Canada, and the United States. Dr. El-Sharkawy has published more than 70 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. He served as a reviewer and acted as an associate editor in several international peer-reviewed journals. Over the years, he has used integrated molecular breeding technologies to improve diverse horticultural crops' productivity and sustainability. He has successfully worked on different research topics such as tree architecture, root characteristics, rootstock/scion interactions, flowering behavior, fruit development, fruit quality traits, postharvest physiology and technology, secondary metabolite, plant growth regulators, and abiotic stress (drought and salinity) with a wide range of horticultural crops. Current research focuses on using recent omics technologies to characterize several traits in southern grapes related to disease resistance, drought/salt tolerance, beneficial metabolome profile, aroma spectrum, and numerous fruit quality characteristics. He also studies the influence of epigenetics in re-programming grapevine phenomics, leading to changes in grapevine responses, growth behavior, and fruit quality characteristics. The target is to produce innovative superior cultivars with attractive value-added traits based on improved germplasm.

Areas of Interest

  • Identify molecular mechanism underlying berry color and seedlessness in grapes.
  • Recognize transcription factors and gene-network involved in abiotic stress tolerance in grapevines, particularly salt, drought, and hypoxia.
  • Bioactivity-guided discovery of effective antioxidant and anticancer compounds in muscadine grapes, emphasizing African American Breast Cancer and African American Prostate Cancer.
  • Breeding high-quality southern grape cultivars for meeting industry demands in Florida.
  • Using grafted blueberry plants to reduce farming inputs and increase sustainability in the southeast.
  • Building capacity in genomic assisted breeding technologies: identify genomic variations and gene-network underlying ripe rot tolerance

Education

 
  • Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, Ph.D. • 2001
    University of Toulouse INP-ENSAT/INRA, France
  • Tree-Fruit Physiology and Postharvest Technology/M.Sc • 1995
    University of Alexandria, Egypt
  • Horticulture – Pomology/B.Sc. • 1992
    University of Alexandria, Egypt

Work History

  • Associate Professor • 2022 – Present
    Viticulture, Florida A&M University
  • Assistant Professor • 2016 – 2022
    Viticulture, Florida A&M University
  • Research Scientist • 2014 – 2016
    Horticulture Section, Cornell University
  • Research Scientist • 2012 – 2014
    Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, Canada.
  • Research Scientist • 2009 – 2012
    Applied Genomics, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre (VRIC), Canada.
  • NSERC Scientist • 2006 – 2009

    Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Southern Crop Protection & Food Research Centre, Canada.

Academic Accomplishments

 

  • Generate and deliver the long-needed critical knowledge on the muscadine whole-genome sequence to benefit the grape breeders and viticulture industry at large. The Muscadinia rotundifolia Noble genome sequence has been deposited in the NCBI GenBank repository. Further, we have developed a specific muscadine browser for the muscadine genome and transcriptome data.
  • Generate a Southern Berries Breedomics Database (SBBD) that has been designed for long-term storage of all the phenotypic and metabolomic data related to southern bunch grapes, muscadines, and blueberries produced and collected during research projects.
  • Develop a “Summer Biotech Academy” training program that targets a diverse pool of minority high school students and undergraduate FAMU students. The main goal of the program is to inspire students’ awareness by exposing them to real-life examples and objectives, which develop communication, leadership, and management skills, encourage students to pursue advanced graduate degrees, expand students’ intellectual knowledge and lab experiences, and prepare them as future workforce to empower and sustain the industry.
  • US Patent Application 17/300,669 -09/20/2021: New premium white bunch grape ‘Blanc du Soleil’, “US Patent Application 2436.67, PL”
  • El-Sharkawy has received funding, totaling over $2 million, form the following agencies:
    • USDA/NIFA – 1890 Capacity Building Grant (CBG) Program.
    • Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
    • USDA/Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE).
    • National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
    • Apple Research and Development Program (ARDP).

Awards

  • Nominated for the “Emerging researcher Award” in 2018.
  • Honor Teaching Award – International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the Department of Nano Science & Technology – Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India, 2013.
  • Visiting Fellowship (VF) – Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), Canada, 2006.
  • The award of Léopold Escande – from University of Toulouse, INP-ENSAT/INRA, France for excellent Ph.D. Thesis, 2003.
  • D. Scholarship; Institut Nationale Polytechnique de Toulouse (INPT), France, 1996.
  • MS Scholarship; Egypt – U. S. / the National Agricultural Research Project (NARP), Egypt, 1992.
  • Award from the Faculty of Agriculture –University of Alexandria for classification as a first student over the Department of Horticulture, 1992.
  • Undergraduate honor scholarship – University of Alexandria, Faculty of Agriculture, Egypt, 1989 – 1992.

Courses Taught At FAMU

  • AGG 2050L      Introduction to Biotechnology (LAB).
  • BOT 5937        Selected Topics in Plant Biotechnology.
  • AGR 5322        Plant Breeding.
  • AGG 5976        Master Thesis.
  • PLS 5000        Biology of Plant Hormones.
  • PLS 5001         Principles of Postharvest Physiology, Biology, and Technology.

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