Juliane Ishida
Life Sciences
Juliane Ishida is a biologist and molecular scientist from the University of São Paulo (USP). In addition to her undergraduate degree, she completed two master’s degrees: the first in botany at the University of São Paulo and the second in plant pathology at the University of Tokyo, where she also obtained her doctorate. She conducted post-doctoral studies between the RIKEN Institute in Yokohama, Japan, and USP. In addition to her degrees, Juliane Ishida has several athletic goals.
She is passionate about plants, and her research investigates the intricate molecular mechanisms that lead to plant parasitism.
Ishida’s interest in plants began when she was young, inspired by her grandmother’s lush garden. Today, she is a professor in the botany department at the Federal University of Minas Gerais.
In addition to her research, Ishida is also an avid athlete. She enjoys running, swimming, skiing, and diving. Since moving to Belo Horizonte, she has spent part of her teaching salary on delicious meals at the city’s many excellent restaurants.
Projects
Some angiosperms have lost their ability to photosynthesize and instead steal nutrients, water, and photosynthates from other plants. These parasitic plants pose a serious risk to food security, adversely impacting agriculture in poor regions.
Unlike pests caused by fungi or bacteria, parasitic plants are other plants that damage the health of the plants we consume. This makes standard management rules generally ineffective.
This project aims to uncover the molecular mechanisms that lead to plant parasitism, based on the hypothesis that these plants are able to communicate using the exchange of RNA molecules as a form of language.
The research aims to help develop new ways of combating these pests by understanding their communication system.
