Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Damián Balfagón Sanmartín

Damián Balfagón Sanmartín, first author of Jasmonic acid is required for plant acclimation to a combination of high light and heat stress

Current Position: PhD student at University Jaume I of Castellón, Spain

Education: BSc in Agriculture Engineering and MSc Agriculture Biotechnology at University Jaume I (UJI) of Castellón

Non-scientific Interests: Sports, reading, and music

Brief bio: I became interested in plant science and research while I was undergraduate, during an internship at the Ecophysiology and Biotechnology department of Univeristy Jaume I. After that, I combined my master’s studies with an internship at Dr. Aurelio Gómez-Cadenas’ lab at UJI. Finally, I joined his lab to perform a PhD. My research focus on plant responses to abiotic stress combinations. I study the responses of citrus rootstocks to drought and heat stress or salt toxicity and heat stress. However, during a recent stay at University of Missouri in Dr. Ron Mittler’s Lab, I have also worked on the effect of high light stress and high temperatures in Arabidopsis thaliana plants.