R&D
Microbiology, Pgpb, biocontrol, plant-bacteria interaction, GLP&GEP in greenhouse and field
Project management
Across my PhD and industrial collaboration with Corteva Agriscience (Cremona, Italy), I designed and executed 10+ end-to-end experimental programmes spanning laboratory, greenhouse and field settings, managing activity prioritisation, team coordination and resource allocation to meet both timelines and budget constraints. I coordinated 3 concurrent trial activities across 3 sites, working with multidisciplinary teams of 5–8 people including growers, nursery technicians and R&D scientists. I also supervised two trainees through their final-year projects at BSc and MSc level. Throughout all activities, I maintained rigorous logbook and GEP reporting standards, ensuring full data traceability and trial consistency — 100% of trials were delivered on time and in compliance with experimental protocols, for both internal teams and industrial partners
Microbiology
My microbiology work spans culture-based techniques and functional characterisation of bacterial and fungal strains, including CFU quantification, growth curves and spore counts from filamentous fungi. I used BIOLOG spectrophotometric microplate assays and GC–MS analysis of secondary metabolites to characterise 5 key mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of selected microorganisms on early olive plant growth. I screened 21 pairwise compatibility combinations across 7 PGPB strains to identify synergistic consortia, and developed a cost-effective plate assay with a selective growth medium for microbial presence monitoring in treated plant tissues — subsequently transferred to Corteva Agriscience for routine day-to-day quality control.
Biostimulants & plant–bacteria interactions
I executed 10+ experiments across laboratory, greenhouse and field conditions, evaluating the effects of Azospirillum, Methylobacterium, Bacillus strains on seed germination, rooting, shoot biomass and root architecture in tomato and olive, achieving consistent increases of 15–30% in root number and shoot biomass relative to untreated controls. To accelerate strain selection, I developed a novel 20-day screening protocol enabling the parallel evaluation of up to 15 plant–bacteria combinations, significantly reducing the time and resources required for early-stage candidate assessment.
Biocontrol
My MSc research focused on Trichoderma gamsii T6085 as a biocontrol agent against Fusarium spp. responsible for Fusarium head blight in wheat. I evaluated its antagonistic activity against 4 Fusarium species through dual culture bioassays, volatile compound tests and mycoparasitism microscopy, confirming significant growth suppression of F. graminearum and F. culmorum. I then demonstrated T6085 competitive colonisation of wheat crop residues in a 4-pathogen mixed-inoculation soil microcosm over 21 days, with significant reduction of F. langsethiae biomass — supporting its use as a pre-harvest inoculum management tool. To support these studies, I validated a species-specific qPCR panel for simultaneous biomass tracking of T6085 and 4 Fusarium spp. in complex substrates, and profiled carbon source utilisation of 5 fungal strains across 95 substrates using the Biolog® FF MicroPlate system, providing a substrate-level rationale for competitive exclusion relevant to biocontrol formulation design.
Molecular biology
I developed and applied a 4-strain-specific tetraplex qPCR assay to monitor PGPB colonisation dynamics across 3 plant tissues on 100+ plant samples, comparing two inoculation methods. Separately, I contributed to the generation and analysis of a hybrid genome assembly of Bacillus velezensis BS101 (formerly classified as B. subtilis) combining MinION long-read and Illumina short-read sequencing, and identified biosynthetic gene clusters associated with plant growth promotion and antifungal activity.
Greenhouse Trials
During my PhD and industrial collaboration with Corteva Agriscience, I carried out 5+ greenhouse trials conducting efficacy trials microbial biostimulants on two tomato varieties and four olive cultivars. I managed all phases hands-on, tracking up to 10 agronomic parameters per trial and consistently achieving 15–30% increases in root number and shoot biomass relative to untreated controls.
Field Trials
My field experience spans two open-field sites in Italy, where I coordinated multi-season efficacy trials of a novel microbial biostimulant on four olive cultivars, monitoring 50+ trees per season with a multidisciplinary team of 5–8 people. All trials were delivered 100% on time and in full compliance with experimental protocols and GEP compliance
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