ERC Grantee: Umberto Castiello

“An outstanding, multidisciplinary and vibrant scientific environment!”

Umberto Castiello is a Full Professor in the Department of General Psychology at the University of Padua, and last year he was awarded an ERC Advanced Grant for a highly interdisciplinary project: understanding intention in plants by analysing their movements.
Speaking of movements, Prof. Castiello’s academic career has been quite dynamic: he started out in Italy, at the University of Parma, then moved to France, to Lyon, to the US, to Arizona, to Bologna, Melbourne, London, and eventually to Padua, where he is carrying out his project. 

“I feel the University of Padua provides an outstanding, multidisciplinary and vibrant scientific environment. To me, it certainly guarantees the quality and feasibility of my project,” he says.
“The support, in terms of infrastructure and financial administration for the project, has been truly wonderful”. 

As a biotechnologist, Sara Avesani, a postdoc in Prof. Castiello’s research lab, collects and interprets the signals that plants emit. “The topic was really interesting: a blend of analytical chemistry, cognitive neuroscience and psychology. I’m curious and adventurous, so that’s why I’m here”. 

“Approaching the study of plants from the point of view of their cognition and behaviour is extremely fascinating, and it is still quite an unexplored topic. It opens up many new possibilities for investigation,” says Valentina Simonetti, a bioengineer and a postdoc in the lab, who was also attracted by another aspect. “The laboratory developed for this ERC project brings together the most cutting-edge technology in this field. Each device was chosen to meet the most recent standards in plant studies. It is quite a unique place. This combination can lead to amazing and substantial new findings”. 

All this equipment allows the simultaneous measurement of plant physiology and behaviour, tracking how plants move. “I needed people with different expertise,” says Prof. Castiello. “In fact, what I’m coordinating is a multidisciplinary team that integrates expertise in experimental psychology, philosophy, artificial intelligence, plant physiology and bioengineering. Indeed, the project is highly multidisciplinary, and this aspect was definitely a plus”. 

Watch the full interview here.