Hossein Alizadeh obtained his PhD from the University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. He is a Senior Research Officer at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Lincoln University. The focus of his research is to increase knowledge of how associations between microbes and plants operate “in planta” with the overall aim of applying this knowledge to the development of commercial products that will contribute to sustainable land-based production. His current research has two main themes: the first is to increase plant nitrogen uptake by reducing urea fertilizer waste using novel ways, which was initially funded by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and continues to be supported by an industry partner. The second theme is to investigate methods to increase plant tolerance to drought stress.