Damase Khasa, born in the DRC, earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Chemistry at the University of Kinshasa in 1980. He then obtained a Bachelor of Science (1984) and Master of Science (1987) in forest engineering from Université Laval in Quebec, and completed a Ph.D. there in 1993, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Alberta in 1995. Khasa has taught at the University of Alberta and Université Laval, where he became a Full Professor in 2011. His research focuses on plant symbioses, agroforestry, and molecular ecology. Since 2011, he has supervised 89 students from 21 countries. He is a full member of the Centre for Forest Research, holds the Canada Research Chair in Forest and Environmental Genomics, and has co-authored over 300 publications. Khasa received the 2011 International Forestry Achievement Award and the 2007 Honours Award from the Quebec Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities. He is also the Theme Lead for Integrated Water Management for IC-IMPACTS, promoting research between India and Canada.