Dr. Ieva Mežaka is the leading researcher at the Institute for Environmental Solutions, where her work includes a collection of medicinal and aromatic plants in the wild, involvement of citizen science, and research on the adaptation of wild plants into agricultural conditions. Previous work experience in the Institute of Biology, Plant tissue culture laboratory and Head of Laboratory of Biotechnology at the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Economics has resulted in extensive knowledge and skills in plant biotechnology and association mapping. She received a doctoral degree in Biology from the University of Latvia in 2018. In 2015 she received an award for doctoral students and young scientists from the Latvian Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences.