Matilde Sanches graduated in 2017 as master of Biodiversity and Plant Biotechnology at University of Coimbra, Portugal. During her master thesis, under the guidance of Prof. Jorge Canhoto, she studied developmental epigenetics throughout somatic embryogenesis of tamarillo plant (Solanum betaceum, Cav.), performing experiments and developing skills (particularly immunofluorescence microscopy) at Pilar S. Testillano's lab in CIB-CSIC, Madrid, Spain. After a one-year experience as Project Developer - DIVA project (H2020) and SKAN Platform activities - at INOVISA (Lisbon, Portugal) and at the Centre for Investigation and Transference of Technology to Community Development (CITT - Maputo, Mozambique), she enrolled in the Plants for Life Doctoral Program in 2019, from ITQB NOVA (Lisbon, Portugal). During her PhD project, focussing on the study of quantitative genetics and mechanisms behind water stress tolerance in grass pea (Lathyrus sativus), she had the opportunity to foster a collaboration between Dr. Carlota Vaz Patto's lab (PlantX group, ITQB NOVA, Oeiras, Portugal) and Prof. Frank Van Breusegem'lab (Oxidative Stress Signalling group, PSB-VIB, Ghent, Belgium). Her main scientific interests are I&D in the agronomic sector, particularly stress resilience in plants, the genetics and epigenetics underlying it; and more important, the potential applications of that field of knowledge in crop improvement and breeding programs, with a particular fondness for orphan crops. More recent (but obviously related) passions are statistics, experimental design and data science, and it was in that framework that she recently joint Hilde Nelissen's Systems Biology of Yield group at PSV-VIB (Ghent, Belgium).

Predoctoral fellow

In the context of my master dissertation, I performed research at the Rhizosphere group on the involvement of germin-like proteins (GLPs) in the establishment and progression of arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi (AMF) symbiosis. This thesis was conducted with the aim of increasing the understanding of plant genes, such as GLPs, in mediating AMF colonization, which in the long term may enhance AMF-induced crop growth benefits, and thereby its agricultural applicability as biofertilizer. In 2023, I started my PhD focussing on expanding local soybean cultivation towards northern latitudes. The establishment of symbiosis with indigenous rhizobia strains acclimatized to these regions is crucial for efficient nitrogen fixation and the production of protein-rich beans. The ‘Soy in 1000 Garden’ initiative has unveiled the coexistence of beneficial local Bradyrhizobium sp. and non-diazotrophic Tardiphaga robiniae within functional soybean nodules, raising questions about their role as either symbiotic facilitators or competitive exploiters.

Assistant Professor, Comparative Genomics & Evolutionary Biology

I am an Assistant Professor at Ghent University and a Staff Scientist at the VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, where I am dedicated to contribute to comparative genomics and evolutionary biology. My scientific journey began and continues to evolve within the Van de Peer lab, where I also completed my PhD. I remain closely affiliated with the lab while running my own research projects to explore plant genome evolution and the genomic changes driving biodiversity. My current ongoing project explores how gene loss, traditionally seen as regressive, can actually drive adaptation and innovation in plants. I am particularly interested in how the loss of genes shapes evolutionary trajectories, restructures biological networks, and contributes to the emergence of new traits. I have investigated these dynamics across diverse plant lineages, from tracing gene loss after whole-genome duplications to uncovering adaptive gene losses in mycoheterotrophic orchids. I recently secured an FWO research project grant to further investigate the evolutionary significance of gene loss across plant lineages, developing a framework to analyze over hundreds of genomes across the plant kingdom. In addition, I actively collaborate on projects that span multiple disciplines and involve cutting-edge tools, such as AI-driven phylogenomics and fossil-informed analyses of genome size evolution. I am in the process of building a vibrant, interdisciplinary research team, and through my work, I hope to contribute both to fundamental insights into plant evolution and to practical applications in agriculture and biodiversity conservation.

Qian obtained his doctoral degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2011, under the supervision of Professor Qifa Zhang at the National Key Laboratory of Crop Genetic Improvement in Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, China. During his PhD study, his research interest was focused on the dissection of the role of gibberellin metabolism and signaling in the biological basis of rice heterosis. Due to his interest in phytohormone research, especially at the interface between biology and chemistry, he joined Stéphanie Robert's group in Umeå Plant Science Center in Sweden as a postdoctoral researcher in 2012, working on the mechanistic understanding of phytohormone-mediated differential growth in Arabidopsis using a chemical biology strategy and the apical hook as a model. In June 2019, he joined the lab of Jenny Russinova to continue the chemical biology research to identify the targets for small molecules and the potential BR binding proteins.