Ramesh Vetukuri is Professor in Plant Biotechnology at the Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU, Sweden, and Director of the SLU Centre for Biological Control. His research focuses on plant–microbe interactions, plant disease resistance, biological control, microbiome-assisted crop improvement, and RNA-based technologies for sustainable plant protection. He has extensive experience in host-induced and spray-induced gene silencing, cross-kingdom RNA communication, functional genomics, and biotechnology approaches to improve crop resilience. Within BREEDTECH, he contributes expertise in plant breeding, biotechnology education, research capacity building, and international collaboration between Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Bekele Gelena Kelbessa, is a PhD candidate at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) in Professor Ramesh Raju Vetukuri’s research group. His PhD project focuses on plant–microbe interactions, biological control, and RNAi-based spray protection technologies, aiming to develop sustainable disease management strategies in modern agriculture.

Farideh Ghadamgahi is a researcher and coordinator at the Department of Plant Breeding, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU, Sweden. Her research interests focus on plant–microbe interactions, plant pathology, and sustainable approaches for plant disease control. She has experience working with biological control, spray-induced gene silencing, biostimulants, and biotechnology-based strategies to improve plant health and crop resilience. Her work contributes to the development of environmentally friendly solutions for crop protection and sustainable agriculture. Within BREEDTECH, she contributes to research, training, student supervision, and capacity-building activities in plant breeding and biotechnology.