Meet the WISH-ROOTS Consortium
University of Bologna, Italy
Current Position: Professor at the University of Bologna, Italy
Education: PhD in Plant Breeding, University of Minnesota, USA
Hobbies: Photography, Hiking, Cooking
Bio: My original interest was in Crop Physiology, particularly under drought stress. Following the launch of our lab on cereal genomics in mid ‘90s, we focused mainly on QTL controlling root system architecture (RSA) and their effects on yield in maize, durum wheat and barley. Recently, we have started looking for QTL that regulate the interaction of the soil microbiome and the durum wheat root in he rhizosphere. We have collaboration with a number of foreign colleagues interested in RSA in cereals.
Role: My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is to collaborate with my colleagues involved in the project.
Current Position: Full Professor in Plant Genetics, University of Bologna, Italy
Education: Phd in Cellular and Molecular Biotecnology, University of Bologna
Hobbies: Guitar player, wild flora exploration
Bio: Staff Research Scientist at Unibo since 2003 working on abiotic stress and genetics of ABA accumulation. From 2007 to 2010 PI at FEM, San Michele all’Adige (Trento) head of apple molecular genetics. Since 2021 is Full Professor at the University of Bologna, working on root and shoot/inflorescence development.
Role: My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is to elucidate the role of genetic variation in wheat root morpho-physiological traits on soil health
Current Position: Associate Professor at the University of Bologna, Italy
Education: PhD in Seed Science and Technology, University of Tourin
Hobbies: Mountain Hiking, fishing, reading, drawing and painting
Bio: I graduated at UNIBO in crop physiology on maize response to drought and then I started to work in the molecular lab on tomato and cereals. For my PhD I characterized a worldwide based durum wheat panel on molecular, morphological and genealogical data. In my postdoc activity I focused on wheat genetics and genomics and visited NIAB, CIMMYT and UC Davis. In the last ten years I contributed to develop resources for dissecting the genetics of agronomically important traits in durum wheat including the golden-standard durum wheat genome sequence and the Global Durum Wheat Resource
Role: My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is to collaborate with my colleagues involved in the project particularly for the durum wheat characterization.
Current Position: Associate Professor of Soil and Environmental Physics, University of Bologna, Italy.
Education: PhD in Soil Physics, 2001, Washington State University, USA.
Hobbies: Writing and playing music, hiking in the mountains.
Bio: I work on measurement and modelling of soil-plant physical processes and mass-energy balance in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Applications range from irrigation management, quantification of evapotranspiration, soil energy budget for climate studies and others.
Role: My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is to supervise and conduct the measurements of soil physical-chemical properties in the field trials at the Cadriano experimental station in Bologna, Italy.
Current Position: Research Fellow and PhD Student, University of Bologna, Italy.
Education: MSc Agricultural Sciences, University of Bologna; BSc Computer Science, University of Ferrara, Italy.
Hobbies: Walking with my dogs, Gardening, Working out.
Bio: I work as a crop geneticist with a focus on root architecture traits that can benefit barley and wheat in stress conditions.
Role: My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is the phenotyping of above and below ground portions of wheat plants in field trials at the Cadriano experimental station in Bologna, Italy and data analysis.
Bartolo Giuseppe Dimattia
Current Position: Research Assistant, University of Bologna, Italy.
Education: MSc Agricultural Science and Technology, University of Bologna, Italy
Hobbies: Calisthenics, playing guitar, D&D
Bio: The subject of radical architecture fascinates me. I hope to contribute to the development of varieties that are more suitable for sustainable agriculture by studying soil-root interaction.
Role: My role in the WISH-ROOTS project is the exploration of soil structure and root achitectonic properties using X-ray tomography,