Dr. Katja Froehlich is a biochemist and postdoctoral researcher at KAUST since 2021, specializing in plant science and data-driven approaches for sustainable agriculture. Her research focuses on plant–microbe interactions to improve abiotic stress tolerance, enhance crop resilience, and develop sustainable solutions for agriculture in challenging environments.

In the Plant Breeding and Genetics Lab of Prof. Jesse Poland, her research focuses on advancing date palm cultivation through sustainable practices tailored to the challenging desert environment of Saudi Arabia. In 2020, she earned her PhD in Biochemistry from the University of Tübingen with magna cum laude distinction.