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BioDeborah earned her MSc in Biotechnology from Wageningen University and her PhD in Biotechnology from the University of Pretoria, where her research centered on mechanisms employed by Armillaria species for iron homeostasis using a multi-omics approach. She was a 2014 Laureate of the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Fellowships, a 2016 Agropolis Fondation Fellow at the Laboratoire des Symbioses Tropicales & Mediterraneennes, and a 2018 Fellow of the Norman E. Borlaug International agricultural Science and Technology Fellowship Program at Michigan State University. Currently, her work in the Peay Lab focuses on the impacts of abiotic factors on pine and pine-associated microbiomes using various indicators. She also aims to understand how individual species of ectomycorrhizal fungi respond to environmental stress including temperature and drought at the molecular level, using a multi-omics approach. In addition to her research, Deborah is deeply involved in mentoring young scientists and is committed to using collaborative, interdisciplinary approaches to addressing scientific challenges.