FABI PhD graduate Dr Elrea Strydom was awarded the Protein Research Foundation’s “Best PhD Award of the Year 2018” at a ceremony at their head office in Woodmead, Johannesburg on 30 January. Elrea successfully defended her PhD thesis on 28 January 2019. Her project, titled “Soybean blotchy mosaic virus: Molecular characterization and seasonal persistence” was done under the supervision of Prof. Gerhard Pietersen, who also nominated Elrea for the award. Soybean blotchy mosaic virus (SbBMV) infects Glycine max and contributes significantly to annual yield losses. Managing the virus therefore is crucial for food security as soybean is one of the most widely grown crops in South Africa.