During his 39 years at McGill Donald L. Smith has conducted research in the production and physiology of crop plants, with an emphasis on plant-microbe interactions. The areas of research investigation have been: nitrogen metabolism, nitrogen fixation, root zone temperature stress and nodulation, development of methods for injection of metabolites into plants, barley production, use of plant growth regulators, intercropping, the dynamics of inter-plant competition, plant-microbe signaling, plants and climate change, biofuel crops, crop stress responses and biochar as a soil amendment. The work has involved 20 crop species, the most recent being Cannabis. He has trained 84 graduate students, 2/3 at the Ph.D. level. This research activity has resulted over 390 journal publications, fourteen patents, a spin-off company (Bios Agriculture Inc.) and products applied to 10s of million ha of crop land per year. He has been principal investigator on research grants totaling over $80 million. He currently leads the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada funded ($2.3 million per year for 5 years) Biomass Canada Research Cluster and the Eastern Canadian Oilseed Development Initiative network (AAFC funded at $1 million per year). He was head of the NSERC Strategic Green Crop Network ($1 million per year for 5 years) and the NCE funded BioFuelNet ($10 million per year for 5 years). He has had international collaborations with the US, India, China, Russia and Brazil. Dr. Smith has served as chair of his department, is a founding member of a Canada-US think tank on climate change and agriculture in North Eastern North America, is a Distinguished James McGill professorship and was a New Sun Professor before that. He has served on the NSERC Plant Biology and Food Discovery grant selection committee. He is a past recipient of the Young Agronomist Award. He is a past president and current fellow of the Canadian Society of Agronomy, and a member of the Clean50. He has been cited almost 21,500 times and has an H-index (Research Gate) of 74.

Plant Pathology professor at the Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna (Italy) and member of the Georgofili Academy (Florence). Board member of the PhD on Health, Safety And Green Systems. Member of the Società Italiana di Patologia Vegetale, American Phytopathological Society, International Organization for Mycoplasmology, International Society for Horticultural Science, International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP) Subcommittee on Taxonomy of Mollicutes, EASIN (https://easin.jrc.ec.europa.eu/easin) boards. Invited speaker and chairperson at many national and international meetings and seminars, member of scientific committees of international meetings on biotechnology and plant pathology, referee for numerous scientific international journals. Emmy Klienenberger-Nobel award for distinguished research in mycoplasmology. Research devoted to detection and epidemiology of phytoplasma-associated, bacteria and virus plant diseases. Author of about 400 peer reviewed publications and 60 books or book chapters. Chair of COST action FA0807 "Integrated management of phytoplasma epidemics in different crop systems". Founder and leader of the International Phytoplasmologist Working Group (IPWG) (http://www.ipwgnet.org/) having collaborations with about 40 Countries worldwide. Partner in five EU founded projects and coordinator of the H2020 TROPICSAFE project (http://www.tropicsafe.eu/) and of the EUPHRESCO network PhyFor (https://zenodo.org/record/2578739).).

Professor M. Z. Abdin is working as Professor and Head, Department of Biotechnology, School of Chemical and Life Sciences, Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi, India. He has published more than 260 original research papers with the citation index of 12657, h-index 62, I10 229, I50 15, I100 07, edited six books in the area of Plant Biotechnology and granted twelve patents. Prof. Abdin has delivered more than 90 lectures in various institutions at National/International conferences in India and abroad. Professor Abdin with the team of young researchers has bioengineered Artemisia annua L. with more than 1.5% artemisinin, an antimalarial compound. The R&D work carried by him also led to improvement in the steviol glycoside contents and rebaudioside A to stevioside ratio for improved palatability and therapeutic efficacy of Stevia rebaudiana. The DNA and phytochemical fingerprints were developed in his lab for quality control of herbal medicines. He has also optimized Standard Operating Processes (SOPs) and developed pharmacopeial standards of mono-herbal and poly-herbal traditional medicines. Professor Abdin and his team has identified miRNAs from various medicinal plants and modulated their expression to improve active pharmacological ingredients of medicinal importance. Herbal Stevia Tea: A Healthy Sip (Stevia Tea Blend, Stevia Green Tea Blend and Stevia Pure) were also developed in his lab. Professor Abdin has travelled to more than 14 countries, captivating audiences with his insightful lectures. Under his expert guidance, 53 PhD students and 98 undergraduate students have successfully completed their theses and dissertations. His illustrious career includes securing 24 research projects, amounting to Rs. 740.68 lakhs, funded by various government agencies in India. Additionally, he is involved in a consultancy project of M/s Hydrogreen Leaf Pvt. Ltd. on “Medicinal Cannabis” in Uttarakhand valued at Rs. 294 lakhs. To recognize his contributions in the field of Plant Science, Professor Abdin has been ranked among top 3% Scientists of the world in Plant Science by AD Scientific Index 2024. He has also been recognized as Best Scientist with national ranking 43 by Research.com in the field of Plant Science and Agronomy. Prof. Abdin was also placed in the category of top 2% most Influential Scientists having career impact by Stanford University in 2023. He has also received Best Scientist Award from SciFax in 2023. Prof. Abdin has received an award from His Excellency Governor of Maharashtra, India Shri Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari ji as a Mark of Honour for his excellent contribution to Plant Science in the year 2021. Prof. Abdin was conferred with Vigyan Ratan Award in the year 2014 by Council of Science and Technology, U.P. Govt., India for his outstanding contribution in the field of Science and Technology and Distinguished Scientists Award by the National Environmental Science Academy, New Delhi, India for his outstanding contribution in the field of Environmental Biotechnology in the year 2004.

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Tamar Jibladze is a dedicated Ph.D. candidate specializing in Chemistry. Building upon the foundation of their master's degree in Biology, she embarked on their Ph.D. journey, under the guidance of Professor, Academician of the Georgian National Academy of Sciences Ramaz Katsarava and Associate Professor of GTU Tamar Palavandishvili. She is currently pursuing doctoral research at the Technical University of Georgia, focusing on the Application of Biodegradable polymer biomimetics for agro-product preservation. With a strong background from supervisors and through their innovative research and commitment to academic excellence, She aims to make significant contributions to Polymer Chemistry and advance the frontiers of science. He completed the 4th semester of his bachelor's degree at the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, Romania, under the Erasmus+ exchange program. Currently, she is the winner of the Shota Rustaveli National Foundation doctoral educational programs grant competition (PHDF-23-3114) (2024, Tbilisi, Georgia). She is also the winner of the Shota Rustaveli National Foundation grant competition "Science Begins from School" (SRC-22-425) (2023, Tbilisi, Georgia). Tamar Jibladze is currently doing an internship at the University of Palermo (2024, Palermo, Italy), continuing her research work. She is a fellow of the Georgian Biochemical Society Community (ABG).

Associate Professor Tamar Palavandishvili was awarded the degree of candidate of technical sciences (equivalent to academic doctor) in 2006 at the Rafiel Agladze Institute of Inorganic Chemistry and Electrochemistry (Tbilisi, Georgia). She has been serving as an associate professor at Georgia Technical University since 2013 in the Department of Chemical and Biological Technologies. She is the author of many scientific studies and textbooks. Her scientific researches are related to the preservation and biological perfection of agricultural products. In the mentioned university, she is the scientific supervisor of many master's and doctoral students.