Yao Kolombia, a Togolese national, currently works in the Plantain and Banana Improvement Program (PBIP) as Pathologist, Plantain and Banana Improvement Program (PBIP)/Doctor. He is based at IITA, Ibadan, Nigeria. He holds B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in agronomy and nematology from the University of Lomé, Togo, and Ghent University (UGent), Belgium, respectively. He started his professional career studying the biological control weed (Striga hermonthica) at IITA Cotonou between 2005 – 2007 and obtained his Ph.D. in nematology focusing on plant-parasitic nematodes on the yam through a sandwich program between IITA (YIIFSWA project) and UGent (BOF), Belgium.

His dissertation focused on the diversity of plant-parasitic nematodes in yam, their morphological and molecular taxonomy, the evaluation of yam germplasm for resistance to nematodes, and nematode management techniques.

He served as a visiting scientist at IITA Ibadan for two years in the virology unit, working with the banana bunchy top virus (BBTV), contributed to the development of the Nematology Digital Learning Platform (NDLP) with UGent, and sampling for biological control on yam nematodes with AgBiome, Inc.

Since 2019, he has worked as a pathology consultant in PBIP with a major focus on black Sigatoka, banana nematodes and weevils, plantain endophytes, and biological control of plantain diseases.

Yao is a pathologist and nematologist with research experience in pathology, disease surveillance, and the taxonomy, management, and biological control of plant-parasitic nematodes.