Mr. Moh Hari Rusli (left), NTU-SEARCA Scholar, with his adviser, Prof. Dr. Takeshi Itoh of the NTU Center for Computational and Systems Biology.
TAIPEI, Taiwan – Mr. Moh Hari Rusli, a joint scholar of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) and National Taiwan University (NTU), won the 3-minute thesis competition at the 11th Asian Crop Science Association Conference held in Sheraton Grand Taipei Hotel, Taipei City, Taiwan on 19-21 May 2025.
The event brought together scientists, researchers, and students from across Asia under the theme "Toward Net-Zero Production, Food Security, and Sustainability," advancing crop science in the face of global challenges and spotlighting the cutting-edge research, particularly in low-carbon sustainability.
The conference featured three thematic days. The first day focused on the sub-theme "Toward Net-Zero Production," which highlighted efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from crop fields, genetic improvement of crop yields, innovative cropping systems, solutions to abiotic stress in crop production, and smart and eco-friendly farming. The second day centered on the sub-theme "Toward Food Security," tackling challenges related to biotic and environmental stresses in crop production, assimilate partitioning for crop productivity and quality, sustainable farming systems, the impacts of nutrients and heavy metals on crops, and the use of genetic resources for crop improvement. The third day explored the sub-theme "Toward Sustainability," emphasizing advancements in genome editing, multi-omics-driven gene identification, and transformative approaches for sustainable rice production.
In this high-impact crop science conference, Mr. Rusli, who is pursuing his MS in Global Agriculture Technology and Genomic Science at NTU, delivered a compelling three-minute presentation summarizing his thesis titled "Exogenous supplementation of L-DOPA mitigates cadmium toxicity in rice (Oryza sativa 'Kitaake') via activation of distinct transcriptional pathway." His presentation stood out for its clarity, scientific merit, and public engagement, earning him the first-place award among participants from several academic institutions across Asia. The competition was part of a broader conference program aimed at enhancing young scientists' ability to communicate complex agricultural research effectively. Mr. Rusli received a certificate and a cash prizeof NTD 3,500 from the Agronomy Society of Taiwan, co-organizer of the conference.
Mr. Rusli's work extended beyond the experimental methodologies detailed in his presentation to include transcriptomic analysis. This research, supervised by Prof. Louis Grillet of the laboratory of plant nutrition and metabolites in NTU's agricultural chemistry department, sought to decipher novel insights into the underlying mechanisms behind L-DOPA detoxification effects against cadmium toxicity in both A. thaliana and rice.
The NTU-SEARCA Joint Scholarship, launched in academic year 2020-2021, supports scholars pursuing the Master's Program in Global Agriculture Technology and Genomic Science (Global ATGS), Master's Program in Biodiversity (MPB), and MS Program in Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience (MDR3) at National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
For more information about this joint scholarship, visit: https://www.searca.org/ntu-scholarship