Francesca De Marchis

Francesca De Marchis is a Senior Researcher at the Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR), part of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR), based at the Perugia Division. With over two decades of experience in plant biotechnology research, she has established herself as a leading expert in chloroplast engineering and unconventional protein secretion pathways in plants.

Her educational background includes a PhD in "Biology and Ecology" from the University of Perugia (2011-2014) and a Degree in Biological Sciences from the same institution (1992-1997).

Dr. De Marchis's research primarily focuses on chloroplast biotechnology, where she has pioneered methods for genetic engineering of tobacco chloroplasts to accumulate proteins of agronomic, pharmaceutical and industrial interest. Her work extends to non-food crops for producing proteins with industrial and pharmaceutical applications, and she has made significant contributions to understanding protein secretion mechanisms in plant cells, particularly unconventional trafficking pathways. Her research has resulted in numerous publications, with an Scopus H-index of 17 and WOS H-index of 16, demonstrating substantial impact in her field.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong emphasis on plant-based biopolymer production, chloroplast transformation techniques, and the application of plant systems for pharmaceutical protein production. Her work bridges fundamental molecular biology with practical applications in sustainable materials and therapeutics.

Throughout her career, Dr. De Marchis has progressed from research fellow positions to her current role as Senior Researcher, maintaining continuous employment at IBBR-CNR since 2000. Her research has been consistently funded through institutional support from CNR, enabling sustained investigation into plant biotechnology applications.

She collaborates extensively within the IBBR network and with researchers across multiple institutions, focusing particularly on chloroplast engineering applications for biopolymer production and protein secretion mechanisms in plant cells.