Dr. Esten Mason is a Professor at Colorado State University (CSU) where he directs the CSU Wheat Breeding Program. He holds a B.A. in Biology and a Ph.D. in Molecular Plant Sciences from Texas A&M University (USA) and was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Global Wheat Program at CIMMYT (México). Esten works to integrate breeding and research efforts to develop improved wheat cultivars with a strong emphasis on utilizing genomics and phenomics for predictive breeding while staying rooted in core plant breeding principles. He strives to train students to be well-rounded scientists, with knowledge of both traditional and modern approaches and their application to plant breeding and cultivar development.