Dr. Ben M’Barek is an Assistant-Professor/Research Scientist at the Regional Field Crop Research Center of Beja, Tunisia (CRRGC).  She is working within the CGIAR Research Program on Wheat Septoria Precision Phenotyping Platform led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in partnership with the Institution of Agriculture Research and Higher Education (IRESA).

She holds a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands.

Besides assisting field activities, Dr. Ben M’Barek is in parallel managing the activities at the Septoria Platform Laboratory in Tunis, where she co-supervises master’s and Ph.D. students.

Dr. Ben M’Barek was awarded a UNESCO-L’Oréal fellowship for her Ph.D. work. She is also a recipient of the Ritzema-Bos Award for Excellence of the Royal Netherlands Society for Plant Pathology.

In 2017, Dr. Ben M’Barek received the Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum Early Career Award.

In 2019, Dr. Ben M’Barek obtained the Award for excellence in Science and Technology of ATUGE (le Prix de l'Excellence Scientifique et Technologique de l’ATUGE).

Dr. Ben M’Barek is passionate about plant-microbe interactions, pathogen genetics & genomics, and sustainable agriculture and believes in the well-being of farmers. She is exploring ways to control the disease by drastically reducing fungicide inputs and achieving a better yield.