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Job Kihara
Principal Scientist, Soil and Water Management
Soil health expert with over 20 years’ extensive experience mostly within smallholder farmer contexts in sub-Sahara Africa. A passionate agronomist focused on improving crop productivity and nutritional quality of the produce (agronomic biofortification) through integrated soil fertility management approaches.
Team leader on soil and water management within the Alliance and co-lead of the Excellence in Agronomy (EiA) initiative of the One CGIAR, working to…
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Ngoc Thi Bich Vu
Research Associate
Ms. Ngoc Vu got her M.Sc in Environmental Resource Management from University College Dublin (Ireland). She has been involved in a wide range of research projects related to climate change impacts on agriculture, climate-smart agriculture, and digital transformation in agriculture, with a strong emphasis on data analysis, spatial analysis, and impact assessment.
Her main role is supporting the Climate Policy Hub (CPH) on local research projects. She hopes her work will…
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Paula A. Paz-Garcia
Senior Research Associate
Paula is a Senior Research Associate in the Data-Driven Sustainability group under the Digital Inclusion research theme at the Alliance.
With expertise in Remote Sensing, GIS, and deep learning, she monitors land cover and land use changes in Latin America and Africa, identifying environmental impacts of commodity sourcing to inform key stakeholders. Additionally, she works in the Multifunctional Landscapes research theme, contributing to the expansion of the SERVIR-…
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Angelica Carbonell Barlis
Research Fellow
I currently hold the position of Science Officer for Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA), supported by the International Development Association of the World Bank. Throughout my career, I have honed my skills in the entire project management cycle, donor coordination, and stakeholder engagement, leading to a remarkable track record of achieving impactful outcomes from development and research-for-development projects.
Prior to being part of…
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Monica Carvajal-Yepes
Team Leader, Digital Genebank
Monica Carvajal-Yepes holds a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Universidad Javeriana, Colombia, and a PhD degree in Virology from Albert-Ludwigs-University, Germany. After completing her studies and working as a Research Associate at Michigan State University, she joined the Alliance Bioversity International & CIAT as a postdoctoral researcher in 2012.
During her five years as a postdoctoral researcher, she focused on investigating the diversity of viruses…
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Isabela Otero Prado
Research Associate
Isabela Otero Prado is an agronomic engineer with a great passion for cocoa and coffee crops. Since joining the Alliance, she has worked on projects focused on biodiversity conservation, climate change impacts, crop management, and developing new knowledge to provide tools for the benefit of farmers and science for cocoa and coffee crops. She enjoys participating in projects that involve science in the field, laboratory, and other scenarios where learning is the main goal…
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Kiogora Joseline Kanja
Senior Associate, Communications
Kiogora Joseline Kanja is a seasoned research communication expert with over a decade of experience in translating complex scientific findings into compelling, accessible narratives that inform policy, drive engagement, and enhance impact. She leads strategic communication efforts to bridge the gap between research, policymakers, and communities, ensuring that scientific insights are effectively translated into meaningful, actionable knowledge that drives…
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Genowefa Blundo Canto
Scientist
Genowefa Blundo-Canto is a Scientist seconded at the Alliance Bioversity International and the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). Her home institute is the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (Cirad), where she has been co-leading institutional impact assessment since 2017.
A development economist with a PhD in Development and Environment Economics from the Roma Tre University, her work focuses on impact evaluation of agricultural…
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Darlley Stiven Taborda Lozada
Research Associate
Darlley Stiven Taborda Lozada es Ingeniero Agrónomo con experiencia en el análisis de datos experimentales y el modelado estadístico aplicado a la agricultura y el medio ambiente. Su trabajo se centra en la evaluación de suelos, la calidad del cacao y estudios sobre la bioacumulación de cadmio (Cd), siempre priorizando un enfoque parsimonioso y soluciones aplicables al campo.
Líneas de Investigación
• Cadmio en cacao: Modelado de la absorción y acumulación de Cd en…
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Fabio Sebastian Espinosa Restán
Research Associate
Fabio Sebastian Espinosa Restán es Ingeniero Agrónomo de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia y Tecnólogo en Control Ambiental. Se desempeña como asociado de investigación con experiencia en sistemas agroforestales de cacao, gestión del conocimiento y evaluación de indicadores de salud del suelo.
Participa en el desarrollo y la creación de estrategias de capacitación para la diseminación de resultados, enfocadas en estrategias e innovaciones para la mitigación del…
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Moritz Dolinga
AgriTech Market Research Analyst
Moritz Dolinga works as AgriTech Market Research Analyst Consultant at the CGIAR Accelerate for Impact Platform (A4IP). As an anthropologist with over 5 years of experience researching innovation processes in the agricultural and food sectors, Moritz supports A4IP’s mission through in-depth market research, policy recommendations, and research outputs. His work involves collecting and analyzing data, synthesizing insights, and developing publications tailored to…
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Victor Hugo Calderon Soto
Senior Research Associate
Victor Hugo Calderón Soto is an agroecological engineer with a master’s degree in agroforestry. He has a proven track record in implementing projects focused on the agricultural sector, ecosystem services, climate change adaptation, and organic production.
At the Alliance Bioversity International and CIAT, his work has centered on the implementation and monitoring of sustainable projects, contributing to the development of mitigation and adaptation measures to…
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Smitha Krishnan
Scientist II
Smitha Krishnan is a Scientist II at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and has been with the organisation since 2019. She is an ecologist focusing on agricultural diversification and ecosystem service provisioning through biodiversity conservation. Her research interests include pollination biology, plant-animal interactions, restoration, soil-plant relationships and sustainable livelihoods. She is also one of the founding members of Indian Pollinator Initiative and…
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Andrea Surama Borrayo Pérez
Research Associate
Soy ingeniera agrónoma en Recursos Naturales Renovables y candidata al título de máster en Ciencias de Derecho Ambiental por la Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. Dentro de la Alianza Bioversity - CIAT me he desempeñado como asociada de investigación en el equipo de Acción Climática. Actualmente, trabajo en el desarrollo del enfoque de Territorios Sostenibles Adaptados al Clima (TeSAC), promoviendo la implementación de prácticas de Agricultura Sostenible…
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Geoffrey Hawtin
Geoffrey Hawtin is a British and Canadian agricultural scientist and manager with expertise in agrobiodiversity, plant breeding and research management. He led Bioversity International from 1991 to 2003, first as Director of the International Board for Plant Genetic Resources (IBPGR) and then as Director General of the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI). In 1994 he oversaw the successful integration within IPGRI of another CGIAR centre, the International Network for the Improvement of Banana…
