Loko Yêyinou Laura Estelle

Yêyinou Laura Estelle Loko is a Beninese entomologist and crop protection researcher. She is an associate professor of zoology and genetics at the National University of Sciences, Technologies, Engineering and Mathematics (UNSTIM) and serves as director of the National High School of Applied Biosciences and Biotechnologies (ENSBBA).

Loko’s research focuses on environmentally friendly pest management and the conservation and use of plant genetic resources in Benin, including approaches that reduce reliance on synthetic insecticides. She received the 2024 The World Academy of Sciences (TWAS)–Abdool Karim Award in Biological Sciences for contributions to biological control methods against insect pests and work on plant genetic resources in Benin.

Early life and education Loko studied animal biology at the University of Yaoundé I (Cameroon) and later completed graduate study in applied entomology at the University of Abomey-Calavi (Benin). She earned a PhD in plant genetic resources and crop protection at the University of Abomey-Calavi in 2013, and also completed a master’s degree at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (France). From 2021, she is the director of ENSBBA, then within the “Université des Nouvelles Technologies et des Sciences”.

She has conducted field surveys with farmers in Benin as part of her work on pest challenges and control practices. Her published research includes studies on pest management of dried yam chips and storage pests, including botanical and biological control approaches, and work documenting farmers’ knowledge of pests and local practices in Benin.

Awards and recognition In February 2023, Loko was named among the seven recipients of the 2023 Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD)–Elsevier Foundation Award for Early-Career Women Scientists in the Developing World, aligned with UN SDG 2 (“Zero Hunger”).

TWAS announced Loko as the recipient of the 2024 TWAS–Abdool Karim Award in Biological Sciences, citing her contributions to environmentally friendly biological control methods against insect pests and work on knowledge and conservation of plant genetic resources in Benin. Loko is also a laureate of the L’Oréal–UNESCO regional postdoctoral fellowship for women in science (Sub-Saharan Africa, 2014) and a laureate candidate in the One Planet Fellowship (2020).

Selected works