20241113_111825
CABI has announced its science award winners for 2025 aimed at early career scientists with this year’s recipients working in the field of extension communication for sustainable agricultural development and biological invasive weed management.
Christine Alokit, Communication and Extension Scientist and PhD student based in Uganda, has won the Gopi Ramasamy Science Award aimed at those working/studying in the field of youth/women empowerment in rural communities or business development.
Meanwhile, Lauréline Humair, a PhD student based at CABI’s Swiss Centre in Delémont is the recipient of the Carol Ellison Science Award which is related to research around biologically based integrated pest management as well as socio-economic analysis.
Opportunities for pesticide risk communication among adolescents
Ms Alokit is pursuing a PhD at the Ugandan Christian University’s School of Journalism, Media and Communication focused on research ‘unravelling the opportunities for pesticide risk communication among adolescents through a school gardening programme in Uganda.’
The award will support her to conduct a scoping study meant to gain insights in the school gardening programme in Uganda. Specifically, its design, objectives, policy alignment and implementation modalities, crops produced, decision making, use of pesticides, school and student enrolment to participate from both boarding and day schools. This study will also identify existing research gaps that will guide establishing effective research strategy regarding the use of pesticides in the programme.
Ms Alokit will engage with policy makers from the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), National Curriculum Development Centre, regional school garden coordinators, and the respective school coordinators.
She will interview 20 school garden coordinators in identified schools in two regions of the country where current PlantwisePlus activities are ongoing. The data will be collected using face-to-face semi-structured interviews and analysed using content analysis method.
Christine Alokit
Christine Alokit – winner of the Gopi Ramasamy Science Award.
Ms Alokit said, “The proposed research methodology shall involve applying approaches that will enable in-depth discussions of the pesticide handling practices in the school program.”
“High school age category is between 12 to 20 years, implying some adolescents are below recommended minimum age of less than 16 years to handle pesticides. Older adolescents will be main target for consideration however, an understanding of what happens with the lower age in practice will be useful information as well.”
Outcomes of research on biological control of Myriophyllum aquaticum
Ms Humair will use her award to attend an international conference for weed biological control to present outcomes of her research on biological control of Myriophyllum aquaticum and develop her network of potential collaborators and donors.
She is currently pursuing a part-time PhD thesis: ‘Biological control of tropical weeds in temperate biomes: developing biological control for parrot’s feather, Myriophyllum aquaticum, in cold climates.’
Classical biological control has, for decades, been a successful technique used for the control of invasive species. By introducing a coevolved natural enemy (biological control agent), the aim is to bring the invasive populations of weed below an economic or ecological damage threshold.
Ms Humair said, “My PhD thesis will explore the challenges biological control faces against tropical and sub-tropical weeds invading temperate regions linked to climate change. Combining thermal and host range testing, this thesis offers the possibility to evaluate the benefits of each agent and their adaptability to the novel environment.
“If an agent is released, knowledge of thermal physiology would allow us to better understand post-release results, especially in a changing climate.”
She added that, in the context of this thesis, two candidate agents: the flea beetle Lysathia cilliersae and the weevil Listronotus marginicollis originate from sub-tropical climates and the third, Phytobius vestitus, a native North American weevil, has a more extended native niche ranging from sub-tropical to continental climate while the target range for releases is the temperate climates of western Canada and the USA.
First results on the host range of Lysathia cilliersae in the lab are promising, it seems that the more complex the experiment becomes, the more Lysathia cilliersae is specific. For Phytobius vestitus, the host range under laboratory conditions appears to follow a similar trend to Lysathia cilliersae, exhibiting greater specificity when test complexity is increased. Thermal physiology analysis is ongoing. So far, the two insect species show differences in cold tolerance: Phytobius vestitus appears to be more cold-resistant than Lysathia cilliersae, which aligns with their respective native niches.
The Gopi Ramasamy Science Award is in memory of Mr Ramasamy – former Regional Director, CABI South Asia, who passed away in 2023 after 10 years’ service.
The Carol Ellison Award is in memory of Dr Ellison who worked at CABI for over 30 years as a specialist in the biological control of invasive alien weeds before she died in 2020.
Both awardees receive a £2,000 grant for their work.
Main image: Lauréline Humair, winner of the Carol Ellison Science Award, in South Africa, visiting a field site of Pontederia crassipes with the Centre for Biological Control (CBC) to gain experience on biological control of invasive aquatic weeds and building her scientific network.