UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Francisco Dini-Andreote, assistant professor of plant science in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State, has been awarded the Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Early Career Chair in Microbial Community Ecology.
Dini-Andreote’s research focuses on soil and plant-associated microbiomes. His lab explores ways that microbial mediated mechanisms can be used to engineer sustainable solutions in agroecosystem management.
“I have always been fascinated by understanding the causes and consequences of microbial diversity across different systems,” Dini-Andreote said. “We have a broad interest in studying the ecological processes and mechanisms mediating microbial community assembly and successional dynamics. Current lab experiments align with the topics of ecological invasions, community coalescence, species interactions and co-occurrence, disturbance, microbiome resistance and resilience, and multifunctionality.”
Dini-Andreote’s lab investigates how environmental and ecological factors affect soil biodiversity and influence plant yield with the aim of developing sustainable agroecosystems. His team is currently studying the microbiome of disease-suppressive soils to determine how conventional agricultural practices, such as herbicide use, affect their ability to protect against the soil-borne pathogen Verticillium dahlia. Their ultimate goal is to develop new and effective strategies for controlling a range of soil-borne pathogens.
“Since joining Penn State a few short years ago — and just prior to the pandemic — Francisco has launched an innovative, cross-disciplinary and high impact integrated research and teaching program,” said Erin Connolly, professor and department head of plant science. "His work addresses key questions at the nexus of microbial community ecology and phytobiome science in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. We’re thrilled that he is being recognized with the Huck Early Career Chair in Microbial Commmunity Ecology.”
Patrick Drew, interim director of the Huck Institutes of the Life sciences, echoed the sentiment.
“Many problems in the life sciences currently impacting our society require an interdisciplinary approach,” Drew said. “Francisco Dini-Andreote’s work tackles the very important area of the interaction of plants with the soil microbiome. One of the Huck’s goals is to support excellence and innovation in research, and we are happy to be able to do that through this Huck Early Career Chair for Dr. Dini-Andreote.”
Dini-Andreote said he will work to uphold those goals.
“During my term as an Early Career Chair in Microbial Community Ecology, I hope to foster interdisciplinary collaborations that enhance our research capacity and drive innovative solutions to major ecological challenges,” Dini-Andreote said. “These include broad aspects of sustainability, climate and ecosystem health, and agroecosystem resilience to environmental perturbations,”
Dini-Andreote is the recipient of the 2023 NACTA Teaching Award of Merit and the Community of Teaching Excellence Award from the College of Agricultural Sciences. He completed his undergraduate and graduate training at the University of Sao Paulo, and his doctorate in microbial ecology and environmental microbiology at the University of Groningen. Dini-Andreote then studied plant-microbe interactions during postdoctoral research at the Netherlands Institute of Ecology, before joining Penn State in 2019.