Dr. Kifah Gharzeddin is a crop breeder and geneticist. The plurality of his researcher identity includes crop genetic improvement and the role it plays in benefitting human health and food security. Gharzeddin’s expertise has contributed to the development of various crop breeding programs in Canada and Syria. Gharzeddin’s faba bean breeding program resulted in the release in 2014 of two registered varieties in Syria originated from ICARDA. In Canada, Gharzeddin developed his molecular research of crop breeding after he joined Carleton University in Ottawa. Gharzeddin collaboratively developed the first chickpea breeding program in Ontario starting in July 2020. Through this program, Gharzeddin identified several adapted accessions to different environments. In January 2024, Dr. Gharzeddin joined the University of Windsor (South-West Ontario), working at one of the top agricultural regions in the world, and with the aim to develop high yield and resistant crop cultivars grown in the Windsor-Essex region (e.g tomato). Dr. Gharzeddin expertise spans crop variety development, plant molecular biology and physiology, Plant-Environment Interactions, Biometrics, and Science Communication.

I grew up in a small village in Yemen. I obtained a bachelor’s degree in physics from Cairo University (Egypt) in 2004 and then worked for the National Atomic Energy Commission (Sana'a-Yemen) in 2005. Then I received my Master and PhD in Theoretical Nuclear Physics from Cairo University (Egypt) in 2009 and 2014, respectively. My research interests are focused on deepening our understanding of nuclear reaction theories. I am interested in scattering, breakup, and reactions of exotic nuclei. In addition, I am working on the energy and mass dependencies of the microscopic optical and dynamical potentials. Permanently, since 2010, I am working at Taiz University (Yemen). In 2018-2020, Philadelphia University (Jordan) hosted my fellowship awarded from the Institute of International Education's Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF). In 2020-2022, I was a researcher at Heavy Ion Laboratory, University of Warsaw (Poland) funded by the Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange (NAWA). Currently, I am a research fellow at the Nuclear Physics Group, Department of Physics and Astronomy, the University of Manchester (UK), funded by the Council for At-Risk Academics (Cara).

Mohammed Almahfali from Yemen is currently a researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, Sweden. He holds a PhD (2014) in modern Arabic literature, Arabic Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Art, Cairo University (Egypt). From 2017 to 2019 he worked as a researcher at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Lund University, thanks to a fellowship received from the Institute of International Education, Scholar Rescue Fund SRF-IIE. In 2015 he served as the head of the Arabic Language Department, with the College of Education, Hadhramout University, Socotra Island, and was an assistant professor of modern literature and criticism. Almahfali authored and co-authored four books and more than 10 peer-reviewed scientific papers. His research interests include discourse analysis, capacity-building in higher education, and sustainable post-conflict recovery strategies to address the challenges in Yemen for the coming years. Particularly noteworthy is his dissemination activity: he is a regular contributor to the Arabi Website, where he deals with socio-political themes, human rights issues and war-related problems.