Olivier Rodrigues, PhD

I completed my PhD in Integrative Plant Biology at Montpellier SupAgro (France) in 2014. Under the supervision of Dr. Christophe Maurel (IPSIM), I contributed to characterizing the role of water channels called aquaporins in the regulation of stomatal movements in response to stress. I made key discoveries regarding the transport and signaling role of H₂O₂ in stomatal movements. Specifically, I demonstrated the critical function of the aquaporin PIP2;1 in mediating drought- and pathogen-induced stomatal closure in Arabidopsis thaliana. 

Then, for two years (2015–2017), as an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Biology and Life Mechanisms at the University of Montpellier (France), I worked on the role of ethylene signalling in plant development. 

I held a postdoctoral position (2018–2020) in the Molecular Plant-Microbe Interaction Laboratory of Drs. Libo Shan and Ping He at Texas A&M University (USA), now located at the University of Michigan. My research primarily focused on the specific function of a group of non-selective ion channels in modulating stomatal movement in plant stress responses, as well as the characterization of a phytocytokine signalling pathway regulating stomatal dynamics. In A. thaliana, I contributed to characterizing the involvement of the interaction between a pair of secreted peptides and a cell surface receptor kinase (SCREW-NUT) in modulating stomatal movement in response to dehydration and pathogen infection. Additionally, I worked on elucidating the mechanisms of cotton plant immunity against Fusarium oxysporum, a major pathogen affecting many cultivated plants. 

Since 2020, I have been a Lecturer in the Department of Plant Science and Agronomy at INP-PURPAN (University of Toulouse). In the laboratory led by Dr. Alban Jacques, I lead projects focused on characterizing the cell signalling pathways controlling stomatal movement in response to pathogens and drought stress in Vitis vinifera.