Seminarios IHSM La Mayora - Yoselin Benitez - Alfonso (University of Leeds, UK )

Dr. Yoselin Benitez-Alfonso is Professor in Interdisciplinary Plant Sciences at the University of Leeds (UK). She was born in Cuba and graduated in Chemistry at the University of Cordoba, Spain. Yoselin did her PhD in plant biochemistry and molecular biology followed by postdoctoral research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York (USA) and at the John Innes Centre (Norwich, UK). In 2017, she was appointed Lecturer at the University of Leeds, where she secured multiple funding including a UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship. Yoselin research group focuses on cell walls properties surrounding plant intercellular channels (named plasmodesmata) with the goal to unlock knowledge for the development of new strategies for crop improvement and biomaterial development. Yoselin’s interdisciplinary research is supported by several networks and virtual centers including the NSF- funded ‘Plant Cell Atlas network’, the Astbury Centre for Structural Biology and the Bragg Centre for Material Research. She advocates for equity, diversity and inclusion and last year, co-founded the Black in Plant Science Network (https://blackinplantscience.org/) dedicated to connect, celebrate and cultivate the next generation of plant scientists in UK. Yoselin was promoted to full Professor last year, becoming the 66th Black Female Professor in the UK. She received the ‘Education and Academic Leader of the Year’ Forward Ladies award and the UKRI Impact Award for ‘Advancing Research Culture’.