Junior researcher Rhodah Nekesa (ZEF HEALTH)’s poster presentation on “Planetary Health Diet and its socio-economic characteristics among school-going adolescents in Burkina Faso, Kenya and Tanzania: The CHANGEMAKER study” at the GACD conference (London, November 2-6, 2026) was awarded for "best design and sound scientific accuracy".  Rhoda's research is embedded in the Changemaker Project and describes adherence to the Planetary Health Diet among school-going adolescents in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Tanzania. 

Her supervisors were: 1st Supervisor: Prof.Dr. Walter Bruchhausen (ZEF / Section Global Health, Institute for Hygiene and Public Health (IHPH), University Hospital Bonn). 2nd Supervisor: Prof.Dr. Sherry A.M. Johnson (School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ghana). Tutor: Dr. Sandul Yasobant (ZEF / Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar). Her doctoral degree was granted by the Faculty of Medicine, University of Bonn.

Sophia Falk's doctoral degree (Dr.agr.) was awarded by the Faculty Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences of Bonn University. Her first Supervisor was Prof. Dr. Lisa Biber-Freudenberger (ZEF/University of Bonn) and her second Supervisor Prof. Dr. Dirk Lanzerath (Director of the German Reference Centre for Ethics in the Life Sciences (DRZE/Bonn University).

Tikabo Gebreyesus Gerezgher successfully defended his doctoral thesis titled "Building climate-resilient cities through Nature-Based Solutions: Green Infrastructure as a strategy for enhancing urban system resilience in Ethiopia". His doctoral research was supervised by Prof. Dr. Christian Borgemeister (ZEF, University of Bonn) and Prof. Dr. Cristina Herrero-Jáuregui (Complutense University of Madrid, Spain).  Tikabo obtained his doctoral degree from the University of Bonn's Faculty of Agricultural, Engineering and Nutritional Sciences.

ZEF welcomes 16 doctoral researchers, who start their 3-4 year interdisciplinary research journey at ZEF and the University of Bonn. Based at the University of Bonn, one of Germany’s Universities of Excellence, ZEF’s Doctoral Program combines rigorous interdisciplinary training with practical research experience and opportunities for international cooperation. 

Altynay Kambekova successfully defended her doctoral thesis on “Between Empires: Sexual Geopolitics and LGBTQ+ Activism in Kazakhstan”. Her degree was granted by the Faculty of Arts, University of Bonn. Her main supervisor was Prof. Dr. Kathrin Hörschelmann (Professor of Cultural Geography, University of Bonn) and her second supervisor was Prof. Dr. Eva Youkhana (ZEF CPC).

ZEF researchers presented and discussed their research at the 8th African Conference of Agricultural Economists which was held in Nairobi, Kenya, September 22-25, 2026. ZEF junior researcher Joshua Kafotokoza (ZEF ECON) obtained the Best Paper Award of the conference for his paper on “Urban sprawl and urbanization implications for dietary quality in Malawi”. In his paper, co-authored with Hannah Ameye and Matin Qaim, Joshua examined how urbanization affects dietary quality in Malawi using panel and geo-spatial data.  His main takeaways:  "Urban growth raises calorie and macronutrient intake but not overall diet quality, with new agglomerations seeing a micronutrient decline. Improved market infrastructure is key for nutrient gains".

Fatima Salaheldin Mohamad Ali was granted her doctoral degree by the Faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Engineering Sciences, University of Bonn, Germany. She successfully defended her doctoral thesis on "Participatory Valuation of Forest Ecosystem Services: A Synthesis of Sub-Saharan Africa and a Case Study from Sudan".  The supervisors of her doctoral research were Prof. Dr. Lisa Biber-Freudenberger and Prof. Dr. Christian Borgemeister. Her work was tutored by Dr. Jan Henning Sommer.