Bio Huma Netics R&D director appointed to EPA committee

Rita Abi-Ghanem, Ph.D., senior director of research and development at Bio Huma Netics (BHN), has been appointed to a 2-year term to serve as a member of the Agricultural Science Committee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Science Advisory Board (SAB). Her term began on Oct. 1.

The EPA SAB Agricultural Science Committee is a new standing committee created as a result of the Agricultural Act of 2014. The committee will provide advice to the chartered SAB on matters referred to the board that EPA and the board, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, determine will have a significant direct impact on farming and agriculture-related industries.

Selection criteria for committee members included demonstrated scientific credentials and disciplinary expertise in agriculture-related sciences, demonstrated ability to work constructively and effectively on committees, and background and experiences that would contribute to the diversity of perspectives on the committee, e.g., geographic, economic, social, cultural, and educational backgrounds, and professional affiliations.

Abi-Ghanem is a Fulbright Scholar who earned her doctorate in Soil Science from Washington State University, her MSc degree in Plant Protection from the American University of Beirut, and her BSc in Agricultural Engineering from Lebanese University in Lebanon.