2024 Interns

Chantel Chizen

“Eager to explore soils and exchange knowledge with global researchers”

University of Saskatchewan

Canada

Javier Eduardo Lara 

“Constantly learning both personally and professionally”

INTA

Argentina

Delia Ortega Lenis

“Focused on learning processes in scientific research“

Universidad Nacional

Colombia

Md Ashraful Alam

“Exploring plant-soil interactions for soil health and climate change mitigation”

University of New England

Australia

Clara Oliva Gonçalves

“Committed to sustainable agriculture balancing productivity and ecology”

University of Bonn

Germany

Camila Ramirez

“Passionate about nature and getting to know different places in the world”

National University of Cordoba

Argentina

Martinien Arcadius Ahogle

“Healthy soil, healthy food, healthy people“

Kenyatta University

Kenya

Winnie Jelagat Kimutai

“Eager to develop sustainable farming that benefits people and the planet”

Kenyatta University

Kenya

Henock Seyoum Sisay 

“Faith, nature, and people have shaped my scientific journey”

Haramaya University

Ethiopia

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Chantel Chizen

Soil Scientist

University of Saskatchewan | Canada

Canada

Chantel Chizen is a soil scientist from Canada and specializes in soil carbon dynamics and digital soil mapping. She is pursuing a PhD in Soil Science at the University of Saskatchewan and earned BSc and MSc degrees in Soil Science degrees from the University of British Columbia. In her current research, she is developing regional soil carbon storage estimates for cultivated wetlands in the Canadian Prairies. Additionally, Chantel is investigating the impacts of wetland drainage and salinity on soil carbon in these ecosystems. The impact of her research is relevant to agricultural land management, carbon credit programs, and wetland policy development. After completing her PhD, Chantel aims to continue conducting soil-landscape modelling research related to soil carbon and soil health across various land-uses. 

Beyond research, Chantel is passionate about soil science education and extension. She is an experienced instructor and was selected as a University of Saskatchewan Teacher-Scholar Doctoral Fellow. She was also a Foundation for Food and Agriculture Fellow from the 2021-2024 cohort where she gained experience in leadership training, industry engagement, and science policy.

Javier Eduardo Lara 

Zootechnical Engineer

Master in animal production, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán.

Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) | Argentina

Argentina

Currently, he is a researcher in the area of Forages and Pastures in the Ecophysiology and Plant Breeding Group of the Centro de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (CIAP), belonging to the Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) of Argentina.

With more than 10 years of experience, he specializes in the adaptation and production of tropical pastures in pastoral and silvopastoral systems of the Semiarid Chaco in Northwest Argentina. His work focuses on the efficient use of resources such as radiation, water and nutrients, through the study of pasture morphological and structural variables.

He teaches undergraduate courses in “Beef Cattle Production” and postgraduate courses in the Master of Animal Production, both at the Faculty of Agronomy, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine of the National University of Tucumán.

Delia Ortega Lenis

Statistician

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Colombia

Delia Ortega Lenis is a Statistician. She has a master's degree in Epidemiology and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Statistical Sciences at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

She has worked as a statistician and data analyst with research groups. In these roles, she has evaluated the effect of climate change on infectious diseases and the vulnerability of communities in the Valle del Cauca region. She also has expertise in modeling the risk associated with environmental exposures on human health.

Her doctoral research focuses on spatiotemporal Bayesian hierarchical models incorporating climate information using satellite images. The objective is to compare estimation methods, particularly those reliant on traditional Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) techniques, with the aim of identifying strategies to reduce computational costs, given the complexity of the data. Additionally, she will validate the proposed model using real data such as weather images characterized by both spatial and temporal variations.

In the carbon sequestration project, she will support the statistical analysis and evaluation of an experiment that uses sensor data to measure carbon levels and other soil characteristics.

Md Ashraful Alam 

Soil Scientist

University of New England | Australia 

Bangladesh

Md Ashraful Alam is a Bangladeshi born Assistant Professor of Soil Science at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Bangladesh. Ashraful holds a first-class master’s degree in soil science from the same university where he is currently working as a faculty member. During the master’s program his work focused on ‘Nitrogen transformation and carbon sequestration in wetland rice’. Besides he was involved in various research project like modelling climate change on agriculture, assessing heavy metal and ecological risk for commercial fishponds and soil nutrition for enhancing rice yield etc. Ashraful received prestigious ‘National Science and Technology Fellowship’ from the government of Bangladesh for his excellent research work. He has also received Dean’s Merit Fellowship for securing first position in his department. To date he has published 13 peer-reviewed primary research articles in renowned Bangladesh and international journals. He has also served as Principal Investigator in two government funded projects and one university funded project. Furthermore, he has participated in four international workshops: Inception in Nepal; Regional Nitrogen Modeling, in India; and South Asia Nitrogen Demonstration and Reactive Nitrogen Management, in Bangladesh.  

Currently Ashraful is pursuing his PhD in Agronomy and Soil Science at University of New England, Australia. He has received two prestigious scholarship - ‘Australian Government Research Training Program and Destination Australia Program’ for his PhD program. His PhD project focus on ‘Above and below ground response of rice under heat stress and implications for energy metabolism’. Beyond the academic and research regime Ashraful is a scholarly member of various scientific community to strengthen his network for knowledge sharing and teamwork.

Clara Oliva Gonçalves Bazzo 

Agronomic Engineer 

University of Bonn | Germany 

Brazil

Clara Oliva Gonçalves Bazzo holds a Bachelor's degree in Agronomic Engineering from the Federal Rural University of Amazonia (UFRA), Brazil. She then pursued a Master’s degree in Plant Health in Sustainable Cropping Systems through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree program, studying at Georg-August-University of Göttingen in Germany and the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain. Currently, she is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Bonn, Germany, where she focuses on monitoring and modeling grassland dynamics as part of the Digital Agricultural Knowledge and Information System (DAKIS) project. 

Clara's professional journey includes extensive work in both academic and applied agricultural research, with a strong focus on sustainability. She has extensive experience working with small farmers in the Amazon region, where she promoted agroforestry and fruit production systems. Internationally, Clara has further developed her expertise through projects in the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. Her work in these countries has focused on remote sensing, precision agriculture, and integrated pest management, and the application of advanced technologies in agricultural practices. 

Clara is passionate about sustainable agriculture and the integration of technology to improve crop management and reduce the environmental impact of farming. Her research interests focus on finding innovative solutions to make agricultural practices more sustainable while enhancing productivity. 

In the Carbon Sequestration Fellowship project, Clara’s research is centered on supporting sustainable agricultural practices by conducting comprehensive carbon data collection and evaluating the root systems of Clitoria and rice crops. The project aims to enhance crop productivity while contributing to environmental conservation, perfectly aligning with her long-standing commitment to sustainability in agriculture. 

Camila Ramirez 

Agricultural Engineer 

National University of Cordoba | Argentina

Argentina

Camila Ramirez is an Argentinean scientist holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering from Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL) located in Santa Fe, Argentina. She was working in a breeding group of INTA as a Technical Assistant of a public/private agreement for the development of new materials by means of selection from germplasm of Panicum coloratum var. makarikariense and Melilotus albus. Furthermore, she was a participant of a project whose objectives were related to climate change mitigation by means of developing cultivars with higher carbon sequestration capacity. 

Currently, Camila is pursuing her Ph.D. studies in agricultural science with a scholarship from CONICET at the Instituto de Investigación de la Cadena Láctea (IdIcaL). The research pursuits are to determinate if it is possible to obtain improved lines of Panicum coloratum var. Coloratum with roots that can significantly increase carbon sequestration in soils through genetic selection. 

Martinien Arcadius Ahogle

Soil Scientist

Kenyatta University | Kenya

Université Nationale d'Agriculture | Bénin

Bénin

Martinien Arcadius Ahogle Agassin is a Beninese soil scientist with a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy and a Master of Science in Sustainable Management of Soil Fertility from the University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin. His master’s research involved a detailed assessment of soil organic carbon stocks and their distribution across various particle size fractions within different cropping systems in central Benin. The research provided critical insights into optimizing farm management practices, promoting sustainable agriculture, and enhancing carbon sequestration as a strategy for climate change mitigation. 

Currently, Arcadius is advancing his academic journey as a PhD candidate specializing in soil health and plant nutrition. His doctoral research is focused on understanding the dynamics of carbon and nitrogen within legume-maize-based cropping systems. This research aims to improve smallholder farming system with innovation towards integrated soil fertility management, contributing to sustainable agricultural practices and improved food security in the region and beyond. 

Winnie Jelagat Kimutai

Agronomist

Kenyatta University | Kenya

Kenya

My name is Winnie Jelagat Kimutai, I come from Kenya. Am an experienced agronomist with a Degree in Crop Protection and Improvement, a Master's degree in Agronomy and currently pursuing a PhD in the same field, my work is deeply rooted in understanding and optimizing the interactions between crops, soils, and the environment. My ongoing PhD study focuses on carbon sequestration in rice, which is a vital component of global climate change mitigation efforts. 

My academic path began with a Bachelor's degree in Agriculture, where I gained a thorough understanding of crop science, soil health, and agricultural methods. This initial education piqued my interest in agriculture's broader implications for environmental sustainability, inspiring me to seek a Master's degree in Agronomy. During my Master's program, I studied advanced crop physiology, soil fertility management, and sustainable farming practices. My thesis research focused on optimizing nutrient management in dry land crops, specifically the effects of various fertilization regimes on crop output and soil health. This study demonstrated the delicate balance required to attain high agricultural yield while maintaining environmental integrity. It also entailed a lot of lab activities and field trials to ascertain the results on a broader scale. My doctoral research is driven by the urgent need to address climate change through innovative agricultural practices.

Henock Seyoum Sisay 

Agriculture, Biodiversity and Climate Change Scientist 

Haramaya University | Ethiopia 

Ethiopia

Henock has over 12 years of experience in agriculture, climate change, and biodiversity as a lecturer and researcher at Haramaya University, Ethiopia. He holds a BSc in Agriculture and an MSc in Range Ecology and Biodiversity and is pursuing a PhD in Climate Smart Agriculture and Biodiversity Conservation. His research focuses on modeling greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem adaptability zoning in Ethiopia. He is also a research fellow in the Tropical Forages Program at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, where he conducts environmental modeling of livestock systems under life cycle assessment approaches in East Africa. Henock's work involves performing carbon and nutrient balance at the system level, including carbon sequestration as a carbon sink, to identify the most promising mitigation options for inclusion in environmental modeling. His goal is to develop innovative, sustainable, and climate-smart solutions to mitigate climate change impacts and protect our natural ecosystems.