MEET THE DIBIO SCIENTIST SERIES : Elide Formentin

Pubblicato il: 19.07.2019 14:08

MEET THE DIBIO SCIENTIST SERIES: Elide Formentin

Elide has been recently appointed as a tenure-track researcher (RTDb) at DiBio

Can you summarize in few words your research?

The main topic of my research is the understanding of how plants cope with environmental stresses. Plants cannot move and therefore they evolved mechanisms to deal or avoid environmental cues. The elucidation of the signalling pathways and morphological adaptations put in place by plants in a challenging environment is of foremost importance in view of the need of an increased crop productivity and to guarantee food security to the future generations.

What is the most rewarding and the most challenging part of your work?

I really like working in the lab and let my brain planning and interpreting experiments. It’s like having a new task every day and this is exciting, never boring. The hard part of this work is the teaching, even though I love it, I find challenging to convey my knowledge to younger people.

Tell us your story: what brings you to DiBio?

My first interest was in Genetics and I got my degree in Biology with a thesis on a genetic disease. Then I moved to the plant field for the PhD in Biotechnology, here in Padova. I worked in and collaborated with many groups of excellence in plant sciences, but only in Padova I found the way to apply my multifaceted experience.

What’s your favourite “toy” for research – and what can it do?

Ion channels are my favourite molecules. I study their activity in different organelles and their involvement in osmotic and salt stresses. My next goal is the understanding of how calcium and hydrogen peroxide permeable channels can cooperate in giving salt-tolerance to rice.

What are your interests outside science?

I love reading and cooking, but my background is always with me and when I go for a walk in the nature, I often describe plants to my children. As I said this job is never boring.