Prof. YEYINOU LAURA ESTELLE LOKO | Plant genetic resources | Best Researcher Award

🔗 Professional Profiles

• Orcid 

🎓Educational Background:

• Associate Professor of the African and Malagasy University Council for Higher Education (CAMES), specializing in Genetics-Zoology (October 2020)
• Assistant Professor of CAMES, specializing in Genetics-Zoology (July 2016)
• PhD in Plant Genetic Resources and Crop Protection, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin (October 2013)
• MSc II in Health Sciences, Environment, Territory, and Society, University of Versailles St Quentin en Yvelines, France (December 2013)
• MSc II in Applied Entomology, University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin (March 2010)
• MSc I in Animal Biology, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon (September 2007)
• BSc in Animal Biology, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon (August 2006)
• Secondary School Teachers’ Diploma Grade I, Higher Teachers Training College (ENS), University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon (September 2006)
• Scientific Special Classes (CSS), University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon (September 2003)
• High school diploma in Life and Earth Sciences, Bilingual High School of Kribi, Cameroon (August 2002)

🔬Training in Scientific Diplomacy:

• Hybrid training in French-speaking scientific diplomacy (FORMHYDS), Sorbonne University and Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF), Paris, France (October 2023 – December 2023)
• Capacity building on UNESCO’s Recommendation on Open Science and gender-inclusive STI policies, UNESCO-Abuja (May 2023 – June 2023)

📚Leadership Courses:

• Leadership Accelerator Programme for Young African Women 2024, LEAP Leadership Institute (LLI) (March 2024 – April 2024)
• Managing as a Coach, University of California, Davis (June 2022)
• Women leadership and negotiation skills, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), Dakar, Senegal (June 2022)
• Building Your Leadership Skills, HEC Paris (May 2022 – June 2022)
• The art of storytelling using the public narrative methodology, African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), Nairobi, Kenya (April 2022 – May 2022)
• Researcher Management and Leadership Training, University of Colorado System (May 2022)
• Leadership Training for Agricultural Research and Development (LEPARD), African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD), Nairobi, Kenya (April 2022)

📊Quality Assurance and Pedagogy Training:

• Various training sessions on curriculum development, monograph development, teaching methods, and quality assurance in higher education institutions across Benin.

📚Short Term Professional Training Courses:

• Training on needs expression and public procurement planning, National University of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (UNSTIM), Benin (December 2022)
• Training in research project writing and funding mobilization, UNSTIM, Benin (April 2022)
• English Language training, Martin Luther King English Center, Abomey-Calavi, Benin (January 2022 – June 2022)
• Training in Bioinformatics and Genomics, IRD, Montpellier, France (September 2017 – December 2017)
• Training in taxonomy and collections management of termite pests, Belgium (2016 – 2016)

🏆Awards and Recognition:

• Laureate of the 2023 OWSD-Elsevier Foundation Award for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World (2023)
• Laureate of the One Planet Fellowship initiative (2020)
• Laureate of L’Oréal-UNESCO for women in science sub-Saharan Africa (2014)

👑Leadership Positions:

• Dean / Director of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Biosciences et Biotechnologie Appliquées (ENSBBA), UNSTIM, Benin (since October 2021)
• Vice-President of the Entomological Society of the Republic of Benin (since September 2021)
• Head of the Laboratory of Applied Zoology and Plant Health (ZASVE), ENSBBA, UNSTIM, Benin (since March 2023)
• Member of the executive committee of the OWSD Benin national chapter, Benin Women For Science (BW4S) (since September 2020)
• Previous leadership roles include Scientific Director and Head of various research and educational departments in Benin.

📖Teaching Experience:

• Associate Professor in Zoology and Genetics, ENSBBA, UNSTIM, Benin (since July 2020)
• Assistant Professor in Zoology and Genetics, ENSBBA, UNSTIM, Benin (July 2016 – June 2020)
• Assistant lecturer in Zoology and Plant genetic resources, Polytechnic University of Abomey (UPA), Benin (October 2013 – June 2016)

🤝Supervising and Mentoring Activities:

• Supervision of graduate students in various fields of genetics, entomology, and environmental sciences in Benin.

Notable Publications