Blanca B. Landa

Blanca B. Landa is a Research Professor at the Crop Protection Department of the Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (IAS-CSIC) in Córdoba, Spain. She is internationally recognized for her research on soilborne and vascular plant pathogens. Her main research focuses on the diagnosis and genetic diversity of phytopathogenic agents using molecular tools, as well as on the study of the plant microbiome to enhance plant health. She currently leads European efforts to prevent and control the spread of the quarantine pathogen Xylella fastidiosa, in particular the Horizon Europe BeXyl Project. She has published over 200 articles indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection and has coordinated more than 40 national and international research projects. She serves as President of the Spanish Phytopathological Society and as a scientific member of the Plant Health Panel of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In 2024, she was honored as a Fellow of the American Phytopathological Society for her outstanding contributions to plant pathology.