Marina Iovene

Dr. Marina Iovene is a dedicated researcher at the Institute of Biosciences and BioResources (IBBR-CNR) in Portici, Italy, focusing on plant molecular cytogenetics and genetic crop improvement. Her career spans over 15 years, including significant roles at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2004-2012) and University of Naples-Federico II (2001-2006).

Dr. Iovene's research explores the evolution of karyotypes, structural chromosomal changes, and satellite repeats in crops and their wild relatives. She has made groundbreaking contributions to understanding centromere evolution in potatoes and sex chromosome emergence in Vasconcellea parviflora. Her work leverages in vitro culture techniques and wild crop relatives for enhancing agricultural production.

Her extensive publication record includes 24 peer-reviewed journal articles, with recent studies on grapevine structural variation (2024), blueberry polyploidy (2023), and carrot genome evolution (2016). Notably, she co-authored a Nature Genetics cover study on carrot genome sequencing. Dr. Iovene maintains active collaborations with international institutions like University of Wisconsin-Madison and Van Deynze Lab, contributing to global plant genomics initiatives.