dr. Barbara Pipan

In 2007, I graduated from the Department of Agronomy at the Faculty of Biotechnology, University of Ljubljana, and then enrolled in the Ph.D. programme in Biosciences, majoring in Biotechnology, which I completed in 2013, obtaining the PhD degree.

One of the most important workshops was definitely the Agricultural Omics workshop, European Bioinformatics Institute, which took place in Hinxton, UK, in February 2014. This was followed by other trainings in different international projects (CropSustain, IAEA, LiveSeeding) and national trainings on project preparation, management and public speaking. I am always attending training courses and workshops specifically related to laboratory-molecular work. I also attend training directly related to work on specific research equipment newly acquired in the Genetics laboratory at KIS or in other organisations in consortium purchases of equipment. I have also completed a course on working with plant protection products.

On 1 February 2007 I joined the Slovenian Agricultural Institute at the Crop and Seed Science Department as a young researcher in the field of molecular biology and plant genetics. After completing my PhD studies in 2013, I continued my research work in the field of population genetics and DNA markers and further developed my knowledge in the fields of phenomics, genomics and NGS-based applications in agronomically important plant species. I have further successfully implemented genetic and genomic methodologies in applied directions in the field of varietal authentication and purity testing of different agricultural plant species and in plant breeding programmes. The development of basic science in my work is continuously carried out in the framework of scientific research projects and consortia at national and European level in which I participate and/or lead. I successfully present my results to the scientific community in the form of original scientific papers in the most reputable international journals in my field of work, where I also act as a reviewer and/or guest editor. I am also active in presenting the results of my research work at national and especially international conferences and symposia, as well as in giving invited lectures and workshops at international level, and in presenting plant topics in scientific and professional monographs. I am also very active in presenting my results to the professional and other interested public, where I participate in the co-creation of various media contents on relevant social networks, radio, television and newspapers, with topics related to plant genetics in general, bean breeding and citizen science. My extensive publicity activity is evidenced by 330 bibliographic items in the COBISS database, of which 13 original scientific articles are published in category A1. I am co-author of a paper published in Molecular Plant (SE 1/238; IF=27.5) and lead author of three new varieties of common bean. Since 2016, I am the Head of the Genetics laboratory at KIS and the Leader of the national common bean breeding programme. From 2025, I am deputy Head of the Crop Science Department and Head of the Group for plant genetics and breeding. Alongside my successful research work and experience, it is very appropriate to mention with gratitude my other mission - my family - which has always been an inexhaustible source of motivation for me, as I have had the privilege of becoming a mother to four sons on a parallel path in science.

During the whole research period, I published a total of 46 scientific articles as author or co-author, 43 of them original and 3 review articles. I am a member of project teams in 4 ongoing or just completed European projects (H2020 ERA-NET project Diversilience; HE project Root2Res, HE project LiveSeeding, HE project CREDITVibes, PRIMA project BrasExplor and H2020 project ECOBREED). I am currently involved in 3 active bilateral collaborations between Slovenia and Japan, Serbia and BiH. At national level, I have been involved in the implementation of 15 different basic, applied or CRP projects funded by ARRS/ARIS, and in 2024 I am leading an infrastructure project (VRO), package 22 for the Genetics laboratory at KIS.

In the context of international cooperation, I am currently leading the H2020 INCREASE project and two ECPGR projects EVA Boost and ExploDiv at KIS. Within the ECPGR network on grain legumes, I coordinate the common bean group.

I have recently finished leading the ECPGR forEVA project and the H2020 ArimNet project MedVitis at KIS.

I also lead the RSF-O KISDigi Bean project at the Agricultural Institute. Within the Public Service for Herbs and Vegetables, I have been leading the national programme on Legume Breeding since 2016. Since 2021, I have been mentoring a PhD student, young researcher Eva Plestenjak.

As part of my project and management activities, I regularly organise and chair meetings, workshops and trainings for Slovenian colleagues and/or members of various project consortia at international level. I also regularly attend meetings related to the implementation of activities within national and international projects.

I regularly conduct field exercises for students of the BF UL and students from other schools. During visits to the Genetics laboratory, I regularly receive and guide pupils, students and various groups and introduce them to the work in our laboratory. I am a co-mentor for Master's students, ERASMUS+ BSc, MSc and PhD students from abroad (Turkey, Slovakia, Greece), students for compulsory internship from the BF Ul and FKKT UL, as well as students from the BIC in carrying out project work within the national matura exam subject Biotechnology.

• Award from Scientific committee of Agricultural Institute of Slovenia for the best scientific research achievement of the year 2021 at KIS for the first Slovenian common bean variety KIS Amand.
• Krka’s awards for the project work performed as a part of national matura exam within the subject “Biotechnology” mentored by Barbara Pipan in 2022 (COBISS.SI-ID 130541059).
• Award from Scientific committee of Agricultural Institute of Slovenia for the best scientific research achievement of the year 2023 at KIS for the (co) authoring 12 important scientific publications all in year 2023 including two important scientific monographies.
• Barbara Pipan's PhD student Eva Plestenjak was awarded by the Scientific Committee of the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia for the best scientific research achievements in the category of young researchers for 2024.
• As a national leader of the H2020 INCREASE project, the whole group won the European Union Prize for Citizen Science 2024 for the best Citizen Science experiment (within INCREASE project).
• Slovenian research and Innovation agency (ARIS) awards: Excellent in Science 2024 from the field of Biotechnology

• The member of the Price List commission at the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia.
• The member of the working group for the preparation of the document for Regulations on research and professional elections at Agricultural Institute of Slovenia.
• The member of the working group for preparing the documentation about “New genomic techniques-NGT” legislation at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food.
• The member of Scientific Committee of the Centre for Functional Genomics and Biochips (CFGBC) at Medical faculty and deputy of the representative at Agricultural Institute of Slovenia.
• The member of the Slovenian Genetics Society.
• The leader of the common bean working group for EVA Legumes network within European Cooperation Plant Genetic Resources.
• The reviewer of scientific articles in following journals: Frontiers in Plant Science, OENO One, Agronomy, Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, Cogent Food and Agriculture, Sustainability, Genes, Data, Plants, Diversity, Hapres, Scientia pharmaceutica, Journal of Central European Agriculture, Acta Agriculturae Slovenica.
• The guest editor of the special issue on Breeding and Cultivation Management of Legumes in highly impacted Plants journal and a Review editor in the field of the Crop and Product Physiology within Frontiers in a Plant Science journal.