Michele Morgante

Michele Morgante is a Full Professor of Genetics at the University of Udine and Scientific Director of the Istituto di Genomica Applicata, a leading center for genome sequencing and analysis. He served as Vice-Rector for Research and Technology Transfer at the University of Udine (2008–2013) and President of the Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics (SIGA) (2015–2017). His career spans academic roles at the University of Udine since 1994 and industrial research at DuPont Crop Genomics (1992–2002).

• Education: Geneticist trained at the University of Padova and University of Udine

His research focuses on plant genome analysis, including sequencing, structural variation, and epigenomics. He pioneered studies on transposable elements, microsatellites, and pan-genome models in plants. His work established genetic technology platforms now widely used in plant genomics.

Notable scientific awards include:

• European Research Council Advanced Grant (2011)
• Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei membership (2007)
• Accademia dei XL Medal (2005)
• DuPont Young Professor Award (2003)

Morgante holds 16 US and international patents related to genome analysis and plant breeding. He has served as Section Editor of BMC Genetics and Associate Editor for multiple journals, including BMC Plant Biology and Theoretical and Applied Genetics.