IRRI Pioneer Interview: Michael Jackson--Thank You Margaret Thatcher!, Part 1
Channel: International Rice Research Institute
Date: 01/11/2012

Dr. Michael T. Jackson started his career in genetic resources in the UK and Latin America during the 1970s and 80s and then spent 19 eventful years (1991-2010) at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; http://irri.org) in various capacities—germplasm specialist and the first head of the Genetic Resources Center (GRC, created in 1991); program leader for Rice Genetic Resources: Conservation, Safe Delivery, and Use; and then, in a complete turnabout, director for Program Planning and Communications (DPPC). 

As head of the GRC, he overhauled operations and procedures at the International Rice Genebank to meet FAO international genebank standards and to be regarded by the Commissioned External Reviewers of Center Genebanks "as a model for others to emulate." He led the collection of 27,000 wild and cultivated rice samples from underexplored regions in 22 countries in South and Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central America. As DPPC, he played a key role in reinvigorating IRRI's resource mobilization efforts by setting up an efficient project management and coordination system that earned the confidence of the Institute's donors. 

In mid-February 2010, he discussed a wide range of subjects in this interview, mincing no words in typical "Mike Jackson" fashion.