The first graduated PhD candidate from our Team!!!

Last Monday was more than a special day!!! It marked the “end” of a beautiful PhD journey that I had the privilege of being part of! 😊

Our brilliant PhD candidate, Asif Ahmed Sami, PhD  successfully defended his PhD at Wageningen University & Research, graduating cum laude!!! 🎓

For me, this was also so special: seeing my first PhD candidate obtain his doctoral degree brought back so many happy memories of our journey. I shared my passion for #seedscience and curiosity for #desiccationtolerance, and saw these seeds grow into exciting discoveries and a bright independent scientist. This has been one of the most rewarding parts of being a PhD supervisor.

My sincere thanks to everyone who contributed to this journey, especially NWO (Dutch Research Council) through my Veni grant, our industry partners Bejo Zaden, Rijk Zwaan, and BASF, my colleague and Asif's promoter Prof. Leónie Bentsink; the opponents who evaluated the thesis; all amazing colleagues from the Laboratory of Plant Physiology - Wageningen University & Research, and all colleagues from the plant, seed and desiccation science communities.

And last, but definitely not least: Thank you Asif Ahmed Sami, PhD for believing in this project and trusting me to be your supervisor! It has been a privilege to see you grow, and I have no doubt that many great things are still ahead!

So, so well deserved! Whoop whoop!! 🎉 🚀

#PhDmentorship #SeedResearch #SeedScience #DesiccationTolerance #SeedMaturation #ClimateChange #SeedsofChange