SAKAI Shoko

Prof. SAKAI Shoko serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Hong Kong Baptist University's Faculty of Social Sciences, concurrently holding a Visiting Professor position at Kyoto's Research Institute for Humanity and Nature. Her research bridges geographical and ecological frameworks to examine plant-environment interactions in Asian ecosystems.

Education:

• Ph.D. in Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University
• M.S. in Animal Science, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University
• B.S. in Science, Faculty of Science, Kyoto University

Her research investigates plant-animal-microbe interdependencies within social-ecological systems, emphasizing tropical forest biodiversity. Key foci include microbial transmission during pollination, geographical variation in plant-microbe associations, and ecosystem service provision in human-impacted landscapes. Current work examines domestication effects on seed microbiomes in East Asian soybean systems and anthospheric bacterial interactions with host plants.

Recent publications (2020-2022) reveal strong thematic continuity in microbial ecology of plant reproduction, with increasing emphasis on network dynamics and climate interactions. Her work spans field studies in Bornean forests to controlled experiments on floral microbiomes, consistently linking micro-scale processes to macro-scale ecological patterns.

Research leadership:

• Principal Investigator for KAKENHI Grant 20H03324: Association of anthospheric bacteria Sphingomonas with plant hosts
• Principal Investigator for KAKENHI Grant 22K19344: Microbial transmission during pollination
• Principal Investigator for KAKENHI Grant 22KK0104: Domestication effects on soybean seed microbiomes

Prof. Sakai actively contributes to academic governance as Editorial Board Member of Evolutionary Ecology (2020-present), Councilor of the Japan Society for Tropical Ecology (2022-present), and Review Editor for IPBES Monitoring Assessment (2024-present).