In 1992, Djamila Rekika obtained a B.Sc. in agronomy, higher plants specialty, from the National Agricultural Institute of Algiers (INA, Algeria) and a postgraduate scholarship. In 1993, she graduated from Rennes I University (France) with an Advanced Graduate Degree in biology-agronomy (plant breeding). She carried out her research works at INRA-SGA forage plants Montpellier, where she studied the genetic variability of Medicaco truncatula through isoenzymatic and biometric analysis. In 1997, she obtained a Ph.D. in biology, diversity and adaptation of crop plants from Higher Agronomic National School of Montpellier (ENSAM, France) ) in collaboration with the International Center of Agriculture and Research in Dry Areas (ICARDA, Syria). Her main interests during her thesis work were the identification and the genetical analysis of physiological traits (osmotic adjustment related trait, stomatal conductance, net photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence and carbon isotope discrimination) related to yield in drought prone conditions in durum wheat. Another part of his work was devoted to the potential interest of related wild species (Triticum and Aegilops Genera) for improvement of these traits. In 1998, she undertakes a postdoctoral research in plant breeding for abiotic stress resistance at INRA-GAP Montpellier. She has published 13 scientific papers related to his work. In 2001, she migrated to Canada and in May 2002, she joined AAFC Research Station at St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec as research scientist. She is presently working on winter hardiness and performance of grapevine cultivars and is also in charge of the evaluation of advanced strawberry and apples lines in relation to their antioxidant level vs shelf life and disease susceptiblity. She is the author and co-author of 9 published, in press or in progress scientific papers.
Email: rekikad@agr.gc.ca