Jiyoung Lee | Soil Plant | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Jiyoung Lee | Soil Plant | Best Researcher Award

Jiyoung Lee | Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology | South Korea 

Jiyoung Lee, Ph.D., is a distinguished principal researcher whose career reflects consistent scientific contribution and leadership in biotechnology. Over the course of her research journey, she has authored 72 scholarly documents that demonstrate strong productivity and relevance across her field. Her work has accumulated 811 total citations, with these citations distributed across 774 citing documents, underscoring both the visibility and utility of her research outputs within the global academic community. With an h-index of 15, she has established a balanced record of sustained impact, indicating that at least 15 of her publications have each been cited 15 or more times. This metric highlights the depth and consistency of her influence rather than just the volume of her publications. Her role as a professor and senior-level researcher further amplifies her contributions through mentorship, collaboration, and scientific advancement. The combination of publication volume, citation reach, and h-index performance illustrates her ability to generate research that is not only high in quality but also meaningful to peers and practitioners. Her academic footprint reflects enduring engagement with innovative research themes and evolving scientific priorities, and she continues to contribute to the advancement of bioscience and biotechnology with a record that balances productivity, influence, and professional leadership.

Profiles:  Scopus | Orcid 

Featured Publications

Peng, Y., Lee, J. H., Kim, C. Y., & Lee, J. (2025). Halophyte-derived Kushneria strains enhance salt tolerance and rhizosphere dynamics in cabbage. Plant, Cell & Environment.

Kim, B. R., Jeong, Y. J., Kim, S., Kim, S. B., Lee, J., Lee, O. R., Kim, K. D., Jeong, J. C., Yang, B. W., & Kim, C. Y. (2025). Elicitor-mediated enhancement of rosmarinic acid biosynthesis in cell suspension cultures of Lavandula angustifolia and in vitro biological activities of cell extracts. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.

Cho, D. H., Peng, Y., Humaira, Z., Park, Y. L., Kim, H. J., Jeong, R.-D., Kim, C. Y., & Lee, J. (2024). Flavobacterium capsici sp. nov., isolated from the rhizospheric soils of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.

Sng, B. J. R., Jeong, Y. J., Leong, S. H., Jeong, J. C., Lee, J., Rajani, S., Kim, C. Y., & Jang, I.-C. (2024). Genome-wide identification of cannabinoid biosynthesis genes in non-drug type Cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivar. Journal of Cannabis Research.

Peng, Y., Jiang, L., Jeon, D., Cho, D., Kim, Y., Kim, C. Y., Lee, J. H., & Lee, J. (2024). Pseudoxanthomonas sp. JBR18, a halotolerant endophytic bacterium, improves the salt tolerance of Arabidopsis seedlings. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry.

Peng, Y., Jiang, L., Jeon, D., Jeong, J. C., Kim, Y., Kim, C. Y., Lee, J. H., & Lee, J. (2023). Mitigation of salt stress in plants by the salt-tolerant bacterium Pantoea ananatis JBR3-16 isolated from sand sedge (Carex pumila Thunb.). Plant Growth Regulation.

Stefania Fortunato | Soil Plant | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Stefania Fortunato | Soil Plant | Best Researcher Award

Stefania Fortunato | University of Bari Aldo Moro | Italy 

Stefania Fortunato is a Senior Laboratory Technician for research and teaching in Plant Biology and Physiology at the Department of Biosciences, Biotechnologies and Environment of the University of Bari Aldo Moro, where she has built a solid scientific profile grounded in multidisciplinary expertise. She earned her PhD in Agricultural Biodiversity and Environment in 2018 with a focus on Agricultural Genetics, conducting research on nitrogen metabolism in durum wheat, and complemented her academic path with a Master’s Degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a professional qualification as a Biologist. Her international experience includes a visiting researcher position at the Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Spanish National Research Council (EEZ-CSIC) in Granada, where she worked on ROS and nitric oxide signaling and peroxisomal dynamics in plants. Her research activity spans Plant Physiology, Agricultural Genetics, and Food Science and Technology, addressing cellular redox mechanisms, nitrogen use efficiency, thermal stress response, oxidative processes in food products, and green analytical techniques. She has authored 28 documents that collectively garnered 564 citations across 627 citing sources, reflecting the impact of her contributions, and she holds an H-index of 11. A member of the Italian Society of Plant Biology since 2021, she actively contributes to advancing plant science through both laboratory innovation and academic collaboration.

Profile: Scopus 

Featured Publications

Di Silvestre, N. J., Domingo, G., Vannini, C., Marsoni, M., Fortunato, S., de Pinto, M. C., Tamborrino, A., Negroni, Y. L., Zottini, M., Tran Hong, L., Lomagno, A., Mauri, P., Pesaresi, P., & Tadini, L. (2025). A holistic investigation of Arabidopsis proteomes altered in chloroplast biogenesis and retrograde signalling identifies PsbO as a key regulator of chloroplast quality control. Plant Cell and Environment.

Fortunato, S., Domingo, G., Davide, E., Lasorella, C., Bracale, M., Vannini, C., & de Pinto, M. C. (n.d.). Dual function plant cryptic nucleotide cyclases.

Saliha Ahmad | Soil-Plant | Best Researcher Award

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Ms. Saliha Ahmad | Soil-Plant | Best Researcher Award

Saliha Ahmad | Case Western Reserve University | United States

Dr. Saliha Ahmad, a PhD candidate in Biology at Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio), is an emerging researcher specializing in plant–microbe interactions, microbial ecology, and sustainable agriculture. Her scientific contributions focus on unraveling the mechanisms through which beneficial microbes enhance plant tolerance to environmental stress, combining molecular biology, bioinformatics, and field-based ecological approaches. She has co-authored 3 peer-reviewed publications, which have collectively received 125 citations across 123 documents, resulting in an h-index of 3—reflecting her growing impact in microbial and environmental sciences. Dr. Ahmad’s publications in high-quality journals such as Plant and Soil, Frontiers in Plant Science, and Environmental Science and Pollution Research explore microbial detoxification, biosorption, and plant–soil–microbe interactions. She is currently leading an innovative project supported by the Research Foundation of the American Rhododendron Society, aimed at developing microbiome-based bioinoculants (“Yogurt for your Plants”). Her strong command of molecular techniques, sequencing data analysis in R, and experimental design, coupled with awards like the Greer Memorial Conference Award (2024) and Oglebay Research Fund, highlight her excellence and potential as a future leader in sustainable plant–microbiome research.

Profile:  Scopus

Featured Publications

Ali, B., Hafeez, A., Ahmad, S., Javed, M. A., et al. (2022). Bacillus thuringiensis PM25 ameliorates oxidative damage of salinity stress in maize via regulating growth, leaf pigments, antioxidant defense system, and stress-responsive gene expression. Frontiers in Plant Science.

Fangyuan Shen | Soil-Plant | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Fangyuan Shen | Soil-Plant | Best Researcher Award

Xi’an University of Technology | China

Dr. Fangyuan Shen, Ph.D., is a distinguished researcher at Xi’an University of Technology specializing in agricultural water-saving irrigation technology, soil microbiology, and efficient utilization of water and soil resources. His pioneering work has focused on the challenges of sediment-laden water in the Yellow River Basin, where he developed and applied muddy water film hole irrigation technology to enhance agricultural productivity in semi-arid regions. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Dr. Shen has contributed significantly to sustainable water and soil management practices. He has published extensively in leading international journals, including Plant and Soil and Scientia Horticulturae, advancing global understanding of water-soil-plant interactions. His research contributions have been recognized with strong academic impact, reflected in an h-index of 12, more than 45 peer-reviewed documents, and over 620 citations across Scopus and Web of Science databases. In addition to his scholarly publications, Dr. Shen actively engages in collaborative projects that bridge science and practical agricultural applications, providing technical support to local farmers and policymakers. His dedication to innovation and excellence continues to drive forward the field of agricultural water management, ensuring sustainable solutions to global food and water security challenges.

Profiles:  Scopus | Orcid

Featured Publications

  • Long-term impacts of stand density on soil fungal and bacterial communities for targeted cultivation of large-diameter Larix olgensis

  • Effects of thinning on absorptive root functional traits of Pinus koraiensis