Karine Prado

Karine Prado studied Biology Science at the University of Montpellier 2 (France) where she obtained an MRes in Plant Functional Biology then a prestigious doctoral fellowship from INRA in 2010 (Contrat Jeune Scientifique). Prado's Ph.D. was carried out at INRA of Montpellier under the supervision of Dr Christophe Maurel and was aimed to determine the molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling the hydraulic properties of the Arabidopsis thaliana rosette, focusing on the role of water channel proteins in response to environmental stresses.
She pursued her CJS contract coupled to an AgreenSkills Fellowship (Marie-Curie FP7 Cofund People programme) in joining the lab of Professor Andrew Millar at the University of Edinburgh (UK) as a postdoctoral research associate. She studied the contribution of non-transcriptional mechanisms to biological timekeeping of the pico-alga Ostreococcus tauri that has become a new relevant model for plant Systems Biology then she studied how light and thermo-sensitive phytochrome photoreceptors regulate chloroplast RNA processing and photosynthesis in the lab of Professor Karen Halliday.
Now she studies mechanisms of thermoadaptation of a desert extremophile C4 plant at the Carnegie Institution for Science under the supervision of Dr. Joe Berry and Dr. Sue Rhee. This project is promising not only in term of translation of fundamental research into biotechnology applications for crop improvement and food security, but also to address relevant challenges faced by developing countries in response to worldwide climate changes.