Dr. Alberto Canarini

Associate Professor, Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna. The main goal of my research is to understand the effect of changing environmental conditions on fundamental biogeochemical mechanisms that control the fate of important elements in terrestrial ecosystems in which microbes are involved, with an emphasis on the carbon cycling.

• (2017) Ph.D. Soil Biogeochemistry, the University of Sydney (Australia)
• (2011) M.S. Ecology and Evolution, University of Ferrara (Italy)
• (2009) B.S. Biology, University of Bologna (Italy)

Arun Kumar Devarajan

Postdoc, started July 2025. My research interests focus on understanding how climate change and environmental stressors regulate microbial responses and their feedbacks to ecosystem processes. My PhD research investigated how warming magnitude and duration alter bacterial community structure and nitrogen cycling potential. Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher in the ERC project EcoMEMO at the University of Bologna, I study how precipitation history shapes soil microbial drought responses and their biogeochemical cycling potential in Mediterranean ecosystems.

• (2024) Ph.D. Microbiology, University of Tartu (Estonia)
• (2019) M.S. Agricultural Microbiology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (India)

Wout Yi Moe Oo

PhD, started Nov 2025

Yaqiang Zuo

CSC PhD student, started Nov 2025. My Research seeks to understand how environmental change shapes microbial communities and their functions. I combine amplicon sequencing and metagenomic approaches to link taxonomic structure with functional potential.

• (2023) Master degree in Marine Biology, the University of Pisa and Zhejiang Ocean University (Italy–China)

Angela Peruzzi

Started April 2025. Master student in Global Change Ecology and SDGs. My research topic is about the effects of drought on soil microbial growth rate and CUE.

Tommaso Magarotto

Master Student, started October 2025

Linda Kentache

Bachelor Student, started July 2025

Zhouyao He

Visiting Ph.D. started Sept. 2025. My research focuses on understanding the profound impact and regulatory mechanisms of soil erosion as a key driving force on the migration, transformation and cycling of soil carbon.

• (2020) M.S. Sichuan Agricultural University & Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources (CAS) (China)

Rebecca Conte

Bachelor student in the lab Summer/Fall 2025
Role: Now Master Student at Univeristy of Trieste

Maria del Mar Lopez Rodriguez

From September to December 2025
Role: PhD student, visiting from the University of Granada (Spain)