Ph.D. program (Xiaohong Wang and Christine Smart Labs) Originally from Nigeria, Babatunde holds a bachelor’s degree in plant science from the Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria; a master’s in plant protection from the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Hungary; and a second master’s in Global Plant Health from The Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, UK. His experiences and education have shaped his strong interest in the molecular and genetic mechanisms of plant disease resistance, with the overarching goal of helping plants win the evolutionary arms race against pathogens, and ultimately improving global food security. As a Ph.D. student in Wang and Smart Labs, Babatunde's research is focus on exploring wild potato germplasm for novel resistance to cyst nematodes and late blight of potato.