Full Professor in Plant Pathology responsible for Plant Production, Protection, and Breeding as well as Plant Protection at the UCO (Spain). Professor López-Escudero has long-standing experience in the research field of olive tree pathology. In particular, he is a leading authority in the etiology, pathogenesis, epidemiology, and control of the verticillium wilt disease of olive trees and he is nationally and internationally recognized for his more than 25 years of research experience in this subject (ORCID: 0000-0003-3089-8301).