Nadia Massa
University of Piemonte Orientale, Italy
Biography
Nadia Massa is a technician in the Biological Laboratories of the Università del Piemonte Orientale, Italy. She graduated cum laude in Biological Sciences at the University of Piemonte Orientale and attained a PhD in "Environmental Science, internal waters and agroecosystems" at the same university. Her research has been focused in: i) effects induced by heavy metals on the wild vegetation of polluted sites and their associated AM fungi, with particular interest in hyperaccumulator plants to be used in remediation programs; ii) setting up of a number of biotest using model plants and AM fungal spores to evaluate the effect of different pollutants on vegetation and hence on living organisms; iii) evaluation of benefits due to AM symbiosis both in biotic (phytoplasmas, aphyds) and (salinity and heavy metals) stress; iv) application of AM fungi and PGP bacteria for the improvement of fruit quality in crop plants. This research has required application of various methodologies such as: optical, fluorescence, confocal and electron microscopy, flow cytometry, molecular analyses and specific image analysis software as well as statistical ones.