Dr. Julia Sibiya

Julia Sibiya is Associate Professor in Plant Breeding and Dean & Head of School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). She holds a B.Sc. in Agriculture from the University of Zimbabwe, an M.Sc. in Plant Pathology & Virology from The Ohio State University (USA), and a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). Julia has over 30 years experience in teaching and research, focusing on both conventional and molecular breeding tools for various traits, mainly disease resistance, drought tolerance and grain quality in various crops, particularly maize and sorghum. As President of the African Plant Breeders Association, she is especially dedicated to advancing plant breeding capacity development.