Dr. Iman Hassaballa
Dr. Iman Hassaballa is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology at the Faculty of Public and Environmental Health, University of Kordofan. She is also a Research Visitor at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), within the Behavioral and Chemical Ecology Unit. Her current research focuses on developing sustainable, eco-friendly strategies for managing crop-associated nematodes, specifically through the innovative use of banana fiber paper and garlic extracts. Dr. Hassaballa holds a PhD in Entomology from the University of Pretoria and a Master’s degree in Medical Entomology and Vector Control from the University of Gezira. Her work bridges agricultural pest management and environmental health, with a strong emphasis on integrating natural products into nematode control systems.
Iman's work during her Short Research Stay
During her Short Research Stay at the Nematology Laboratory at Ghent University, Dr Hassaballa worked under the supervision of Prof. Wim Bert and his team, focusing on the identification and characterization of plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) and free-living nematodes associated with crop soils. Her work integrated both morphological and molecular techniques. For morphological identification, she examined live and fixed nematodes mounted on temporary and permanent slides, using a dissecting microscope and an Olympus optical microscope. Specimens from the temporary slides were subsequently processed for genomic DNA extraction, followed by PCR amplification and gel electrophoresis to visualize the resulting products. Additionally, she received training in Geneious Prime 2024 for sequence analysis, including BLAST searches and GenBank submissions, to ensure accurate identification of nematode species.
Selected Publications
- Tchouassi, D. P., Jacob, J. W., Cheseto, X., Chepkemoi, L. S., Hassaballa, I. B., & Torto, B. (2022). Enzyme-catalyzed kinetic resolution of racemic 1-octen-3-ol and field evaluation of its enantiomeric isomers as attractants of sandflies. Journal of Chemical Ecology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fitd.2023.1327349
- Torto, B., Hassaballa, I. B., & Tchouassi, D. P. (2022). Chapter 8: Chemical ecology of sand fly plant-feeding behaviour. In Sensory Ecology of Disease Vectors (pp. 235–252). Wageningen Academic Publishers. https://doi.org/10.3920/978-90-8686-932-9_8
- Yuko, E., Sang, R., Owino, A., Ingonga, J., Matoke-Muhia, D., Hassaballa, I. B., & Tchouassi, D. P. (2022). Sandfly blood-feeding habits and competence in transmitting Ntepes virus, a recently discovered member of the genus Phlebovirus. BioMed Research International, 2022, Article ID 1234567. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/4231978