Virtual Program
From 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m.
This talk will explore the vital role of South African plants in food security and medicine, focusing, respectively, on undervalued crops and plants used by local communities in primary healthcare. Drawing from her extensive research, she will provide a few case studies and highlight the impact of South Africa’s botanical heritage on global agricultural and medicinal practices.
Dr. Shakira Shaik is a Plant Biotechnologist with a Ph.D. from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, teaches Plant Biotechnology and Scientific Writing. Her research focuses on stress-tolerant crops and cryopreservation for endangered plants, with collaborations in Brazil and India. She has supervised numerous students, published 30 articles, and serves on editorial boards like the European Journal of Horticultural Science. Dr. Shaik is also a grant reviewer and a member of several scientific organizations.