Zuluaga Paola

My main goal in research is to understand the negative impacts of abiotic stress on plant-pathogen interactions. It is well-known that most biological pathways for disease resistance identified so far are not very efficient under abiotic stress. Therefore, I am particularly interested in understanding how plants defend themselves against pathogens and how they simultaneously cope (or not), with abiotic stress. Due to the potentially grave social and economic impacts of crop diseases, and the increasing problems due to climate change, understanding these issues can help ensure crop security by developing elite varieties which are both disease-resistant and able to cope with the challenges presented by an ever-changing environment.