Hafssa Kabbaj
Research Associate – Genomic Selection of Durum Wheat

Dr. Hafssa Kabbaj is a Research Associate at ICARDA.  She joined the durum wheat breeding program of ICARDA- Morocco in 2019 and is now leading the genomic selection pipeline of ICARDA’s durum wheat breeding program. Her work is aimed at implementing genomic selection and speed breeding tools to deliver super cultivars to national partners from Central and West Asia, North Africa, and West Africa. She believes that the use of genomic tools is an important driver for selection success in plant breeding to cope with the impact of climate change.

Dr. Kabbaj holds a PhD in plant breeding and biotechnology from Mohamed V University in Rabat, Morocco as well as a Master of Science in Biotechnology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the same university.

She received the Jeanie Borlaug Laube Women in Triticum (WIT) Award in 2023 and the special mention of the Carlotta Award in 2022.

Hafssa Kabbaj's Publications