Dr. Zelalem Taye is an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia (UBC), jointly appointed in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Stewardship. He leads the Plant–Soil Microbiome Ecology and Innovation Lab and brings interdisciplinary training in natural resources management and biological sciences across Africa, Europe, and North America, including a PhD in Plant Sciences (University of Saskatchewan) and dual master’s degrees from the Erasmus Mundus program: an MSc in Forestry and Natural Resources Management (University of Lleida, Spain) and an MSc in Forest and Environmental Sciences (University of Tuscia, Italy).
Dr. Taye’s research integrates ecology, genomics, and computational approaches to advance genomics-enabled biodiversity monitoring, with a focus on soil biodiversity and ecosystem health across agricultural, forest, and urban systems. His program is working to map soil biodiversity across British Columbia landscapes and contribute to the development of a province-wide Soil Biodiversity Observatory to support conservation policy frameworks, stewardship, and stewardship-based economies. Genome BC is a key partner in advancing this direction and strengthening the translation of genomics into practical, data-to-decision biodiversity outcomes.
A central goal of his lab is to translate microbiome mapping and monitoring into innovation, including scalable genomic tools and microbiome-based solutions with potential applications in agriculture, forestry, and environmental rehabilitation. Prior to joining UBC, Dr. Taye served as a Research Scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.