Rubén Casanova

Plants are more amazing than you may think

My name is Rubén and I work as Research engineer in a biobank of Poplar lines that researchers use to answer fascinating questions. The class “borrowing” me will learn how can one become a scientific researcher, and what they could expect from it. And of course, I will challenge their vision on plants by showing that: plants can hear sounds, plants can tell neighbour plants about the presence of an herbivore, plants are able to transmit electrical impulses in response to stimuli as animals with nervous system do, and much more.

I come from Spain, where I obtained a degree in Biological Sciences and a Master and PhD degree in Bioengineering. During my doctoral studies, I researched on genetic mechanisms behind the shape and flatness of the best solar panels ever built in nature: the plant leaves. After finishing my PhD research in 2014, I moved to Umeå to work as scientific researcher at the Umeå Plant Science Centre, where I spent 7 years studying how plants regulate the levels of an important growth hormone called auxin.

Om besöket är på plats kan jag komma till

Umeå

Umeå universitet

Institutionen för fysiologisk botanik