Communication between Plants and Rhizosphere Microbiome: Exploring the Root Microbiome for Sustainable Agriculture

Professor Olubukola Oluranti Babalola (Pr.Sci.Nat, MASSAF, FASLP, FTWAS, FAS, FAAS) is the Vice-President of TWAS & OWSD. Olubukola is an NRF-rated scientist, an MBA graduate, a Research Director, and a principal investigator at North-West University, South Africa. After earning a PhD with a research fellowship from IITA and PhD Fellowships from OWSD, she completed postdoctoral experiences at the WIS, Israel, and the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. She has over 20 years of experience focusing on rhizosphere metagenomics. She is a member of several editorials and an international advisor to a few others. In 2018, she delivered her professorial inaugural lecture. She is an AAAS-TWAS Science diplomacy alumnus. Olubukola holds over 56 professional certificates in her area of interest, including from the UC, Berkeley, USA; UoM, Reduit; Bradford Univ, the UK; and NMU, South Africa. She has received many awards, including being the finalist, GenderInSite 2020. She is passionate about capacity building and supervised 31 PhD fellows, 24 MScs, and numerous Honors students. She is a prolific author with ~350 publications. Her international experience spans the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. She enjoys research grants and international partnerships across the globe and has an H-index of 57, with ~16,300 citations. Her recent Springer book is “Food Security & Safety: Africa’s Perspective.” Olubukola is #1 in Africa for Soil Science & Plant Nutrition.