In 2018, I began my Ph.D. at the PlantLab, focusing on the Oryza sativa microbiome and its role in hypoxic stress tolerance through metagenomic analyses and the isolation of plant growth–promoting (PGP) bacteria. In 2022, I was awarded a Seed Grant from the Italian Society of Plant Biology to conduct research in Dr. Vittorio Venturi’s Bacteriology Group at ICGEB, Trieste, where I develop and apply fluorescent tagging of bacterial endophytes to visualize their colonization and interactions with host plants using confocal microscopy. As a postdoctoral researcher, I am extending this work to Arabidopsis thaliana, investigating how rice-derived endophytic bacteria modulate root architecture via hormone- and immunity-related signalling, highlighting their potential as bioinoculants for crop resilience. In parallel, in collaboration with Syngenta Biologicals, I am currently evaluating nitrogen-fixing and PGP bacteria under drought stress, identifying promising candidates for sustainable agricultural applications.
For an updated list of academic publications, visit this link.
