Neslihan Bal | Plant Pest Insects | Excellence in Research award

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Assoc. Prof. Dr. Neslihan Bal | Plant Pest Insects | Excellence in Research award

Gazi University | Turkey

Dr. Neslihan Bal is a Doctor Faculty Member in the Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Gazi University, Ankara. She completed her higher education in biology with a specialization in entomology and has developed strong expertise in insect morphology, taxonomy, and ultrastructural analysis. Her academic career is marked by extensive experience in teaching, research, and scientific publishing, particularly in the use of light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for taxonomic and systematic studies of Coleoptera and Hemiptera. Dr. Bal has authored and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles published in internationally indexed journals, including SCI-Expanded journals, with several papers ranked in Q1 and Q2 quartiles. Her research interests focus on insect genital morphology, ultrastructure of reproductive organs, systematics and taxonomy of beetles, biodiversity, invasive species, and the impacts of climate change on insect distribution. She has contributed significantly to the description of new species, new records for the Turkish fauna, and comparative morphological analyses with taxonomic significance. Through national and international collaborations, she actively supports the advancement of entomological research. Dr. Bal’s scientific contributions have strengthened the understanding of insect diversity in Türkiye and surrounding regions, and she continues to play an important role in training young researchers and advancing microscopy-based biological research.

Citation Metrics (Google Scholar)

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Citations
293

Documents
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h-index
9

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Featured Publications

Kaori Shiojiri | Plant-Animal Interactions | Women Researcher Award

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Prof. Dr. Kaori Shiojiri | Plant-Animal Interactions | Women Researcher Award

Ryukoku University | Japan

Prof. Dr. Kaori Shiojiri is a distinguished ecologist recognized for her expertise in chemical ecology and plant–insect interactions. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in Agriculture from Kyoto University, specializing in Environmental Science and Technology. Following her doctoral training, she completed prestigious JSPS Research Fellowships, including international research work at the University of California, Davis and further research at Kyoto University’s Center for Ecological Research. She later served as an Assistant Professor under the Hakubi Project at Kyoto University’s Institute for Advanced Study before joining Ryukoku University, where she progressed from Lecturer to Associate Professor and currently serves as Professor in the Graduate School of Agriculture. Her research focuses on plant volatile–mediated communication, tritrophic interactions, ecological signaling, and sustainable agricultural systems. According to Google Scholar, she holds an h-index of 28 with 2881 citations, reflecting her strong publication record and scientific impact. She has received multiple honors, including awards from the Ecological Society of Japan, the Japanese Society of Applied Entomology and Zoology, the Japan Prize for Agricultural Science (Young Scientists), the Tachibana Award for Outstanding Women Researchers, the Morita Award, and the Miyadi Award. Her work continues to advance ecological understanding and strengthen environmentally sustainable agricultural innovation.

Profiles: Scopus | Google Scholar

Featured Publications

Shiojiri, K., & Karban, R. (2006). Plant age, communication, and resistance to herbivores: Young sagebrush plants are better emitters and receivers. Oecologia.

Tanaka, T., Ikeda, A., Shiojiri, K., Ozawa, R., Shiki, K., Nagai-Kunihiro, N., … Arimura, G. (2018). Identification of a hexenal reductase that modulates the composition of green leaf volatiles. Plant Physiology.

Shiojiri, K., & Takabayashi, J. (2003). Effects of specialist parasitoids on oviposition preference of phytophagous insects: Encounter–dilution effects in a tritrophic interaction. Ecological Entomology.

Shiojiri, K., Ozawa, R., Matsui, K., Sabelis, M. W., & Takabayashi, J. (2012). Intermittent exposure to traces of green leaf volatiles triggers a plant response. Scientific Reports.

Sukegawa, S., Shiojiri, K., Higami, T., Suzuki, S., & Arimura, G. (2018). Pest management using mint volatiles to elicit resistance in soy: Mechanism and application potential. The Plant Journal,

Harsimran Kaur | Agriculture Entomology | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Harsimran Kaur | Agriculture Entomology | Best Researcher Award

KKIASR, Ganpat University | India

Dr Harsimran Kaur completed her M.Sc. (Entomology) from Chaudhary Sarwan Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, and earned her Ph.D. in Entomology from Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, where she graduated among the top of her department. With more than one and a half years of academic experience as an Assistant Professor of Entomology, she has demonstrated strong teaching and research capabilities. Her research interests focus on insect biodiversity in crop agro-ecosystems, host-plant resistance mechanisms—particularly antibiosis and antixenosis—against the whitefly Bemisia tabaci in upland cotton, development of eco-friendly pheromone traps using plant-based attractants for fruit-fly management, and the role of insect diversity in sustainable pest management and beekeeping in semi-arid regions of Gujarat. She has also served as NAAC Accreditation Coordinator, mentored undergraduate dissertations, and contributed to postgraduate curriculum development. Recognized for her academic excellence through the Young Entomologist Award (2023) and the Mrs Jaswant Kaur Bindra Fellowship (2020-2023), Dr Kaur has published several peer-reviewed papers and maintains an active research profile with an h-index of 1, total citations of 2, and 3 indexed publications, reflecting her growing impact in the field of agricultural entomology and sustainable crop protection.

Profiles: Scopus | Google Scholar

Featured Publication

Kaur, H., Kumar, V., Pathak, D., & Sangha, M. K. (2025). Antixenosis: Mechanism of resistance to whitefly in upland cotton introgression lines. Arthropod–Plant Interactions.

Stephanie Coronado | Plant Ecology | Best Researcher Award

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Dr. Stephanie Coronado | Plant Ecology | Best Researcher Award

University of South Florida | United States

Stephanie M. Coronado is a postdoctoral fellow in the Geography and Environmental Science Program at the University of South Florida, where she began her appointment. She earned her PhD in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz (2013). Her research centers on ant–plant mutualisms, canopy ecology, tropical agroforestry and herbivore-community assembly — for example exploring how keystone ant species shape arboreal ant diversity and how plant–ant mutualists influence caterpillar communities. She has published peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution and Biotropica, and has additional manuscripts in preparation for submission to high-impact journals. Her research contributions include investigations of species-pool effects, ontogeny of mutualistic ant-plants, and agroecological biodiversity patterns. Recognized for her work with awards such as the Outstanding Graduate Student Assistant Award (University of Nevada, Reno, 2024) and the Diana Hadley-Lynch Scholarship (2023-24), she also contributes as a peer-reviewer for multiple ecology and entomology journals. In her ongoing career she aims to deepen our mechanistic understanding of how biotic interactions drive diversity patterns under global change.

Profile: Orcid

Featured Publications

Coronado, S. M., López-Muñoz, R., Morris, J. R., & Jiménez-Soto, E. (2025). A keystone ant species drives patterns of arboreal ant diversity in the canopy of a tropical coffee agroforest. Myrmecological News.

Coronado, S. M., Vincent, A. G., Pozos, F. H., Espinoza Siezar, L. A., & Pringle, E. G. (2025). Challenges in the early ontogeny of a mutualistic plant: Resource availability and plant defense in juvenile Cecropia ant-plants. Biotropica.

Villamarín-Cortez, S., Hankin, L., Coronado, S. M., Macdonald, J., & Noriega, J. A. (2022). Diversity and distribution patterns of Ecuador’s dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeinae). Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.