Professor Olubukola Oluranti Babalola (Pr.Sci.Nat, MASSAF, FASLP, FTWAS, FAS, FAAS), the Vice President of the Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD), is an NRF-rated scientist with over 20 years of research experience focusing on rhizosphere metagenomics, coupled with an MBA in General Management. She is the Research Director of the Food Security & Safety Focus Area at North-West University (NWU), South Africa, without reservation leading, as the Head and Principal Investigator a Microbial Biotechnology Research laboratory. Olubukola is a member of the editorial board for Microbiology Spectrum, Applied and Environmental Microbiology (American Society for Microbiology, USA), BMC Microbiology (Elsevier), and Biochemistry and Biophysics Reports (Elsevier). She is an International Advisor to F1000Research Plant Science Gateway, Nano-Horizon and Heliyon (Cell Press). Olubukola has received many awards, including being the finalist, GenderInSite 2020. Olubukola joined NWU in 2009; at NWU, Olubukola is passionate about capacity building and has graduated 28 doctoral fellows, 24 masters, and numerous Honors students. Several of her PhD products are now in the UK, Italy, America, Canada, Australia, Sweden, and also scattered over Africa. Prof Babalola is a prolific author with over 300 publications. She is an AAAS-TWAS Science diplomacy alumnus, impacting the world after the eye-opening awareness of policymaking, diplomacy, and diplomatic engagement. She is acting using the gender lens and forging collaborations with diplomats. She is a fellow of The Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS), The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS), and the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAF). Her wealth of international experience spans the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, 38 countries to be precise. She enjoys international collaborations across the globe, research grants, and many awards. Olubukola has an H-index of 50, with ~13,000 citations Olubukola is #1 in Africa for Soil Science and Plant Nutrition: https://www.adscientificindex.com/scientist.php?id=96341