Diana Santelia

Roles and Affiliations: Diana Santelia is a Privatdozent/Researcher at ETH Zürich's Department of Environmental Systems Science, affiliated with the Institute of Integrative Biology. She leads the Plant Molecular Physiology research group, focusing on carbohydrate metabolism in plants. She holds a senior scientist position and has been a habilitated lecturer since 2019, teaching molecular biology to Food Science and Environmental Sciences students.

• Education:
  • BSc in Agricultural Sciences, University of Milan (2001)
  • PhD in Molecular Plant Physiology, University of Zürich (2002–2006)
  • Postdoctoral Researcher at ETH Zürich (2006–2011)
  • Independent Group Leader at University of Zürich (2012–2019)
  • Senior Scientist at ETH Zürich (2019–present)

Research Interests: Her work centers on starch and sugar metabolism in guard cells and mesophyll tissues, particularly their roles in plant productivity, stress tolerance, and environmental responses. She uses Arabidopsis thaliana as a model and extends findings to crops like barley and tomato. Key areas include:

• Guard cell photosynthesis and stomatal movement regulation
• Starch granule formation and thylakoid membrane interactions
• Carbon allocation under abiotic stress

Publications and Grants: Over 40 peer-reviewed articles since 2006, including work on thylakoid architecture, guard cell metabolism, and stress responses. Funded by Swiss National Science Foundation grants (e.g., 182570, 219583) for projects on starch metabolism and stomatal physiology.

Teaching and Labs: Leads courses in molecular biology and contributes to plant environmental physiology workshops. Her lab develops tools like StomataPy for high-throughput phenotyping and collaborates internationally on plant stress adaptation.