Plant Science Council - Chair of the Plant Improvement Retreat (August 2019)

The Plant Improvement Retreat of 2017 and 2018  were a great success for the plant science council. We brought together students and postdocs from different departments to learn and share about breeding and related arts. Guests from Syngenta, HM Clause and the UF career center discussed with us what great opportunities we have as young plant breeders. 

I started the Planted Breeding Retreat project in 2017 and I feel it has now reached its maturity. I leave it in the capable hands of my Plant Science Council colleagues who I am sure will continue on developing it for the benefit of the UF breeding community and beyond. 

Plant Science Council - Chair of the Plant Improvement Retreat (August 2018)

The Plant Improvement Retreat of 2017 was a great success for the plant science council. We brought together students and postdocs from different departments to learn and share about breeding and related arts. This year we decided to open our doors also to biological scientists and staff of the University of Florida and double the number of available seats. Speaker from HM Clause, DuPont-Pioneer, Simplot and the USDA discussed with us various breeding-related topics and career options.

Plant Science Council - Chair of the Plant Improvement Retreat (2017)

Graduate students and postdoctoral researchers interested in the various aspects of plant breeding belong to several departments at the University of Florida. These include Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, Agronomy, Horticulture, Environmental Horticulture, and Plant Pathology. One of the missions of the Plant Science Council is to create stronger bonds among students interested in plant breeding across the various departments. In addition, we aim to promote connections with the industry and showcase the qualities of the University of Florida programs.

The goal of the first edition of the Plant Improvement Retreat was indeed to tackle these challenges and give students the chance to understand how plant breeding works in companies/research institutes and academia. For the first day, we were joined by four outstanding speakers: Dr. Raymond Jacobs, subtropical plant breeder for Driscoll's; Dr. David Wolff, senior tomato breeder for Sakata; Dr. Christopher Tinius, global head of soybean breeding for Bayer; and Dr. Karen Koch, professor at the University of Florida. Students and postdocs from UF were offered advice on crucial topics such as: How does industry differ from academia? What skills are companies/research institutes looking for in new graduate students? What is the structure of a breeding program in a company? What is the future of plant breeding? In addition, Dr. Koch led a workshop on grant writing specifically for breeding.

The second day, students and faculty members from the Plant Breeding Initiative got together to present their career stories and their current research.

Participation in the event (35 graduate students and postdocs) exceeded our initial estimates (10-15 graduate students). The feedback we received was very positive: participants gained valuable insights and were able to make new contacts both with colleagues and external professionals. In particular, the presentations overlapped very well, and we were able to appreciate various career stages of plant breeding.  

CRISPR/Cas9 working group at the University of Florida

CRISPR/Cas9 is regarded as the latest fronteer in genome editing and research. Knowledge regarding this enzyme is rapidly expanding in a number of directions. As many researchers at the University of Florida can benefit from sharing knowledge about genome editing, I decided to start a working group focused on CRISPR/Cas9. The group discusses the latest advancements in the field often with the participation of external speakers. The main perspective is sceintific but we also discuss other topics such as Intellectual Property, industry impact and future perspectives.

CNSB Presidency (2012-2014)  Coordinamento Nazionale degli studenti di Biotecnologie (National Biotechnology students committee)

The biotechnological path is a relatively new one, especially in Italy. Its great professional value still has to be fully recognized and the educational landscape is very diverse. However, universities and professional associations  can play a pivotal role in shaping these processes.

During my presidency we organized and chaired two national conventions. The first one wanted to answer the questions "Which ones are the best biotechnology courses in the country? What do companies expect from recent graduates?" with  speakers from both the academia and the industry. The second one was centered on entrepreneurship in the biotechnological field i.e. start-ups and spin-offs. In addition during my mandate we started collecting qualitative data aimed at harmonizing the educational panorama in the country through a series of questionnaries. 

Youth can do it! - European project (France - July 2013)

Thanks to generous investments of the European Union, young people from all over the continent were able to gather and work on topics relevant for the community. In this instance 7 nation participated with various members and I served as team leader of the Italian delegation.

During our stay in Brioude, France, we worked on how young people can positively impact their communities taking the lead and adopting an entrepreneurial attitude. We participated to various workshops on team building, conflict management and organization optimization. The take-home message was that we are all very different individuals, thus different strategies must be adopted to bring the best out of each team-player.

Eco Village in action - European project (Rumenia - June 2013)

Second of the European projects I participated to. In this case we met in Vatra Dornei, a city in North-Eastern Rumenia once famous for its charming fluvial beaches. In the last years the landscape has been spoiled by wild dumping and general pollution, affecting both incomes and well-being of the inhabitants. With meetings, flash mobs and other initiatives in the region we tried to clean some areas and raise awareness on ecological matters. We thought, we sowed seed and we hope that positive attitudes grew out of that. 

Tackling youth unemployment in the EU - European project (Turkey - May 2013)

Chronologically this was the first time I joined a European project. I lead the Italian teams in the talks and workshops about unemployment in the Eurozone. At that time 50% of the Italians under 35 years of age were unemployed and most of the southern countries of the EU suffered from similar problems. We discussed how to solve these issues with young professionals from other nations and elaborated possible solutions to this dramatic situation.