Through the Bayer fellowship, she will continue her research in Germany, designing a smart foliar delivery system for abscisic acid (ABA) — the hormone plants naturally release to survive drought. Her project will reimagine how this hormone is delivered, making it more stable, more targeted, and more effective in real field conditions. By fine-tuning how crops respond to water stress, her work could help legumes stay green and productive even under a blazing sky — reducing waste, conserving resources, and bringing climate-smart agriculture a step closer to reality.

“This fellowship lets me take science out of the lab and into the field,” she said. “It’s about transforming discovery into something farmers can feel in their hands — a smarter, more resilient way to grow food.”

Her research builds on her Ph.D. work at KAUST, where she developed nanoencapsulation techniques to improve the stability and performance of plant growth regulators under stress. Now, collaborating with Bayer’s research and development teams, she will translate that expertise into scalable, field-ready technologies designed to support global food security and more climate-resilient farming systems.

“This fellowship is more than a recognition — it’s a responsibility,” she said. “With climate change accelerating, every innovation that helps plants endure drought matters. If we can make crops more tolerant and reduce waste, we can help shape the transition from today’s agriculture to one that values water as the rare resource it truly is.”