Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako is a Professor of Plant Virology from the Department of Crop Science, School of Agriculture, University of Cape Coast (UCC), Cape Coast, Ghana where he has been teaching courses such as Plant Virology, Plant -Virus Integrations, Pest Management, Food Microbiology and Immunology, Agricultural Microbiology, Fundamentals of Plant Protection and integrated Pest Management since 2004. He has so far trained 10 MPhil and 5 PhD students in various areas of Plant Virology and Protection.

His area of specialization is virus diseases of horticultural, vegetable and food crops, with special interests in virus characterization, diagnostics, plant-virus-vector interactions, and development of integrated crop improvement strategies. He has conducted extensive research in virus disease epidemics in key food security crops and vegetables. He has been involved in breeding for a number of high yielding cowpea varieties that are resistant to viruses, striga and drought. In addition to these, he has also been involved in the development of two white-flesh and three yellow-flesh cassava varieties (high beta carotene content) which are resistant to cassava mosaic diseases. These have been approved and released in 2019. He was also part of the research team that developed two high-yielding, mealy and cassava mosaic disease-resistant cassava varieties that were released in 2006.

Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako was appointed as Lecturer in the Department of Crop Science in 2004 and by dint of hard work was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor and subsequently to Professor in 2018. Prior to his appointment as Vice-Chancellor, he was the Dean of the School of Agriculture of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, University of Cape Coast between 2016 and 2020. Between 2015 and 2016, he served as the Liaison Officer for the Students’ Vacation Training Programme, School of Agriculture (2015-2016), Academic Counselor, Department of Crop Science (2015-2016), Faculty representative of the University Time Table Committee (2012-2014), Academic Advisor, Examination Officer and Seminar Coordinator (2004-2007). He has also been an external examiner for examination of theses as well as external assessor for promotion for University Ghana, Legon, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, University for Development Studies, Tamale, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Accra, Methodist University College, Dansoman, Accra, and Abeokuta Agricultural University, Nigeria since 2013.

He has authored/co-authored about fifty (50) publications covering various aspects of plant virology and plant protection in peer reviewed journals and book chapters. He has served as a reviewer for a number of journals, including African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, Annual Research & Review in Biology, Australasian Journal of Plant Pathology and Journal of Experimental Agriculture International and as editor of Indian Journal of Phytopathology. He has attended and presented papers at several conferences and workshops, both local and abroad.

Prof. Elvis Asare-Bediako has served and continues to serve on several University-wide Committees and Boards. He served as a member of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and Chairman of Accommodation and Transport sub-committee for the 15^th Regional University Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) Annual General Meeting held at the University of Cape Coast in 2019. He has been a member of the Academic Board of UCC from 2016 to 2020, a member of the University-wide Sandwich Committee from 2016 to 2020, a member of Management Board of the College of Agriculture and Natural Sciences (CANS), from 2016 to 2020, a member of Planning and Resource Allocation Committee, UCC, (2016); a member of the Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy Management Committee, (2016); a member of the Education Management Committee, from 2017 to 2020, a member of Landed Property Committee, University of Cape Coast, from 2019 to 2020, and a member of College of Professors, UCC, (2019).

He has also served and continues to serve on a number of Regional, National and International Committees. He serves as a member of the Committee of Deans and Principals of RUFORUM’s 126-member Universities across Africa (2016-date) and Chaired the committee from 2019-2020. He was also the Chairman of the eight-member sub Committee of Principals and Deans of the RUFORUM’s (Regional Universities Forum on Capacity Building in Agriculture) member universities, elected to support the efficient operations of the Deans and Principals Committee (2019). He was the Leader of the four-member team set up by Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) that initiated a draft investment proposal for the implementation of Science Agenda for Ghana in 2017, and has been a member of the Technical Committee on the development of a National action plan for the implementation of the Science Agenda for Agriculture (S3A) in Africa by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Accra, (2018-date).

Prof Elvis Asare-Bediako has also been a member of the Steering Committee of the Research Extension Farmer Linkage Committee (RELC), Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Central Region Coordinating Council, Cape Coast, (2019-date; Chairman of Harvest Committee of the Wesley Methodist Cathedral, Cape Coast since 2018, Board member of the Central Regional Chamber of Commerce since 2017 and the Founding President of the Plant Protection Society of Ghana, since 2018. He was a member of 2006 National Best Farmer Selection team. He is a member of Ghana Science Association (GSA), University Teachers Association of Ghana (UTAG), Plant Protection Society of Ghana (PPSG) and American Phytopathological Society (APS). He was a member of the British Society of Plant Pathologists (BSPP), (2008-2014); and Association of Applied Biologists (AAB), (2008-2012).

Prof Elvis Asare-Bediako has won a number of National and International awards including Ghana Government Scholarship (2007-2011), British Society for Plant Pathology’s travel awards (2010), Association of Applied Biologists travel award (2010), and Grant award from DAAD DIES to attend International Deans’ Course Africa in Germany, Uganda and Ethiopia, (2017-2018). Prof Elvis Asare-Bediako has won several research grants from both Local and International institutions such as: World Vegetable Centre, AVRDC, Shanhua, Taiwan, (2013); CSIR-West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP), (2014); International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture-FAO, Rome, Italy, (2016) ; Ghana Skills Development Project-COTVET fund (2018); Directorate of Research, Innovation and Consultancy, University of Cape Coast (2015, 2017, 2018), European Union (PEAP-Agri) grant, (2018); MasterCard Foundation / Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM) (2018).

Prof Elvis Asare-Bediako had his primary education at Poano Methodist Primary School and Bekwai Anglican Primary School. He then proceeded to Bekwai Experimental Junior High School. He had his Secondary School Education and his Ordinary and Advanced Level Certificates at the Seventh-Day Adventist Senior High School, Bekwai-Ashanti. He holds a Bachelor of Science in General Agriculture, and Diploma in Education (1997), Master of Philosophy Degree in Crop Science (Plant Pathology) (2003), all from the University of Cape Coast. He obtained his PhD Degree in Plant Environmental Sciences from the University of Warwick, UK, with specialization in Plant Virology (2012). Prof Elvis Asare-Bediako is married to Mrs. Edith Asare-Bediako, and they are blessed with four children.