Emily Rose Palm, PhD
Assistant Professor in Plant Physiology
room 4004, building U3, tel.: +39 02 6448 3568
lab 2013, building U3, tel. +39 02 6448 3334
Keywords
Carbon assimilation, chlorophyll fluorescence
The activity is focused on the following research lines
Enviromental Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Plant Biodiversity and Agrobiodiversity
Background
Dr. Palm began her studies in plant biology in the bachelor of science program at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington where she specialized in Botany. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in December 2014. For the next 18 months, Dr. Palm worked as a math and science teaching assistant for an after-school program in Seattle and as a volunteer research assistant in the laboratory of Prof. Elizabeth Van Volkenburgh focused on light-regulated leaf cell expansion in Arabidopsis thaliana photoreceptor mutants. In September 2006, Dr. Palm joined the laboratory of Dr. Van Volkenburgh as a graduate student to pursue a Ph.D in Plant Physiology. Her research focused on elucidating the tolerance mechanism of Mimulus guttatus ecotypes adapted to the low Ca:Mg ratio typical of serpentine soils. In 2008, she was the recipient of a prestigis National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program grant providing 3 years of support following the selection of her research grant on serpentine tolerance in Mimulus guttatus. During this time, she acquired skills in classic plant physiology techniques including measurements of gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescenece, plant biochemical parameters, water potential parameters and growth rates. She spent time in the laboratories of Prof. Barbara Hawkins (University of British Columbia, Victoria BC Canada) and Prof. Stefano Mancuso (University of Florence, Florence Italy) to learn electrophysiology techniques to measure Ca and Mg ion flux rates in M. guttatus. Over the course of her Ph.D., Dr. Palm was a teaching assistant for 12 courses in the UW Biology Department, running laboratory sections in plant and animal physiology, plant ecophysiology, and general botany. She was the lead instructor for the Advanced Plant Physiology course in Spring 2013 and Winter 2014, teaching both lecture and laboratory sections for 3 and 4th year students in Biology. She received her Ph.D in Plant Physiology in December 2013.
Since January 2013, Dr. Palm has held a number of postdoctoral researcher positions in plant physiology, starting in the laboratory of Dr. Van Volkenburgh (January – September 2013). In January 2014, she began working in the laboratory of Prof. Stefano Mancuso of the University of Florence studying the role of trees as indicators of pollution in urban environments. Her work focused on evaluating stress responses in arboreal species to abiotic stress, mainly heavy metals, and assisted in field work and data analysis on various phytoremediation projects in Italy. This period resulted in a number of publications focused on the tolerance to and efficiency of heavy metal uptake in poplar and willow species. In October 2022, she moved to Milan to begin a research fellowship with Prof. Massimo Labra evaluating the role of green spaces on improving ambient conditions (air quality, water quality, thermoregulation) in urban areas. Dr. Palm is currently holds an RTDA position in the Department of Biotechnologies and Biosciences with Prof. Massimo Labra. Her work is focused on evaluating the both the effect of revegetating urban spaces on air and water quality and biodiversity, as well as the response of plant species to the conditions present in urban environments.
Research interest
Plant adaptation and response to abiotic stresses, including salinity, heavy metals, nutrient deficiency and toxicity and drought.
Selected articles
-Atzori G, Guidi Nissim W, Mancuso S, Palm E (2022) Intercropping salt-sensitive Lactuca sativa L. and salt-tolerant Salsola soda in a saline hydroponic medium: an agronomic and physiological assessment. Plants 11 (21): 2924 DOI: 10.3390/plants11212924
-Palm E., Klein J.D., Mancuso S., Guidi Nissim W. (2022). The physiological response of different brook willow (Salix acmophylla Boiss.) ecotypes to salinity. Plants, 11, 739. doi.org/10.3390/plants11060739
-Palm E, Guidi Nissim W, Mancuso S, Azzarello E. (2021) Split-root investigation of the physiological response to heterogeneous elevated Zn exposure in poplar and willow. Environmental and Experimental Botany 183: 104347. DOI: http://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.envexpbot.2020.104347
-Guidi Nissim W, Palm E, Mancuso S, Azzarello E. (2018) Trace element phytoextraction from contaminated soil: a case study under Mediterranean climate. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 25: 9114-9131. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-1197-x
International and national collaborations
Dr. Angela Mkindi; The Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology; Arusha, Tanzania
Prof. François Bouteau ; Université Paris Diderot/Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire des Energies de Demain; Paris, France
Prof. Anna Podlasek; Department of Revitalization and Architecture, Institute of Civil Engineering – Warsaw University of Life Sciences in Poland
Dr. Joshua Klein; The Volcani Center - Department of Agronomy and Natural Resources - Institute of Plant Sciences (Israel)
Prof. Frantisek Baluska; University of Bonn – Bonn, Germany
Prof.ssa Magdalena Daria Vaverkovà; Faculty of AgriSciences, Department of Applied and Landscape Ecology, Mendel University in Brno (Czech Republic)
Prof. Michel Labrecque; Plant Science Research Institute – University of Montreal, and Montreal Botanical Garden (Canada)
Palm’s Lab – #PalmLab_BtBs
last update: May 2024