The National Plant Protection Centre (NPPC) family bid farwell Dr. Thinlay.
Dr. Thinlay is from Babesa village under Chang Gewog, Thimphu. He is married to Mrs. Tashi Pem and has 2 daughters and a son. He joined civil service on 20 August, 1984 as an Assistant Plant Pathologist at NPPC, the then EEC Plant Protection Project under Department of Agriculture.
In 1999, he was transferred to Yusipang and served as a Plant Pathologist until 2001 when he was transferred back to NPPC under the same position. He also served as the Program Director of NPPC for the period 2002-2008. He was promoted as the Plant Protection Specialist in the same year.
Dr. Thinlay has the following qualifications:
- 1977, completed high school from Yangchenphu High School
- 1983, B.Sc. Agriculture (Hons) in Agriculture Science from the University of Western Australia, Australia
- 1987, M.Sc. in Plant Pathology from the University of Wales, United Kingdom
- 1998, Ph.D in Plant Sciences from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Switzerland
- 2000, Post-doctoral from the Tohoku National Agricultural Experiment Station through Japan Science and Technology Fellowship
- 2007, Post-doctoral from the University of New England, Armidale, Australia through Endeavour Fellowship
The most significant achievements of Dr. Thinlay are identification of blast resistance gene in Bhutanese rice, Chumro (Khangma map) and disease management in dryland agricultural ecosystems. Both the research articles are published in reputed and peer-reviewed international journals.
In the span of 34 years and 3 months of his service to the Tsa-Wa-Sum, his contributions made with selfless dedication while serving at various places/agencies have been significant ultimately leading to the overall development of agriculture in the country over the last four decades.
The NPPC family would like to wish him a healthy, wealthy, long and happy retired life ahead.
