Universidad de Alcala (UAH Madrid, Spain)
Web: www.uah.es

Organisation and Competences: The University of Alcalá, one of the oldest Universities in Spain, founded in 1499. It is  a modern institution today which offers undergraduate and graduate degree programmes and participates in several research projects in a wide variety of areas. Its Department of Plant Biology has a strong focus on plant biotechnology.

The research interest of the AgroForestry Biotechnology group is focussed on functional genomics and the molecular and physiological regulation of the developmental processes underlying age and maturation-associated traits involved in forest productivity. The group has developed a complementary experimental approach including physiological, biochemical, cellular, molecular and, recently, genomics analysis to the study of the effect of maturation on the propagability and performance of forest reproductive materials.
The team has lead regional, national and international projects in the field of Forest Biotechnology, and is participating in the ongoing FP7 CSA FORESTTRAC and in the Plant KBBE Trilateral Cooperation Project in Plant Genomics "Sustainpine". The team leader has organized and coordinated the Spanish Forest Genomics Network, which brings together more than fifty national experts in functional and structural genomics, population genetics, bioinformatics, physiology, molecular and cellular biology as well as experts in the forest-sector. She was member of the core group involved in the preparation and presentation of the COST Action E-28 "Genosilva: European Forest Genomics Network" and became member of the Management and Steering Committees. She coordinated the COST Action E-28 WP2 "Functional Genomics of Tree Maturation and Reproduction" including 20 reserach groups from 11 European countries. The team also organized and led the European Network on Plant Senescence, and is member of the national branch of the European Forest-Based Sector Technology Platform (FTP)

Role: UAH coordinates the project and will be also involved in WP2 and WP6.

Staff members' profile:
Prof. Carmen Díaz-Sala- PhD in Plant Physiology, she is expert in physiological and molecular regulation of tree development. She leads the AgroForestry Biotechnology group. Principal investigator of several projects and initiatives. Grant reviewer and panelist, member of educational and scientific committees. Member of the Advisory Board of the University of Alcalá Vice-President for Research.
Prof. Dolores Abarca- PhD in Molecular Biology. She is Professor of Plant Biotechnology at the University of Alcala. She has more than 20 years of experience in the molecular analysis of gene function. In the last 15 years, her research has been focussed on the cross-talk between the signalling pathways controlling development and abiotic stress in plants. She is the co-founder of SenNet, a network of European research groups interested in plant senescence