Elena Salvi

Position

Research Associate

Affiliation

Sainsbury Laboratory

Keywords

Plant development, flower, developmental boundaries, pattern formation, morphogenesis

I am a plant developmental biologist, with a background in molecular biology and genetics (Msc) and a PhD in Life Sciences – specialization in plant development (La Sapienza, University of Rome).

I have been always fascinated by how things work and by how they become what they are. In this sense, nature is a source of beauty and inspiration as so many different shapes and patterns can be found in it, from the simplest to the most complex. As a research associate in the lab of Edwige Moyroud at the Sainsbury laboratory, I investigate at the molecular level how petals in flowering plants (specifically in Hibiscus trionum) develop their features, i.e. what are the hormones, the genes and the proteins involved in shaping colourful and functional patterns on petal surfaces. What excites me the most is that apparently unrelated organs and tissues in plants share the same core molecular elements and the same gene networks to develop, with some slight – but fundamental- variations that make them different. I undertook the challenge of identifying these core elements and the gene regulatory networks they operate in, and then understanding why their outputs can be so diverse in different developmental contexts. Acquiring these insights means getting closer to understanding how evolution tinkers with what already exists to generate endless forms and a panoply of astonishing organisms. Petals of flowering plants, moreover, are not only a model system for EVO-DEVO (evolutionary developmental biology) studies: one of their main functions is to facilitate pollination by attracting pollinators, so they are perfect also for such studies with an ecological perspective. Thus, I recently became interested in investigating the relevance of petal patterns for pollinators. In the long term, this knowledge will help us to take action at different scales to improve plant-pollinators interactions.

Add your profile to the site

If you are an early career cis and trans woman researcher from the University of Cambridge or affiliated institutes, you can add your profile to the site. Fill in this form and we will be in touch.

For anything else, don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing us stepwide.cam@gmail.com.

This website

This website showcases the profiles of early career cis and trans women researchers from the University of Cambridge, UK, and affiliated institutions. It originated as part of StepWide, a leadership programme that aims to support the next generation of female researchers.

We hope that by making the expertise and stories of early career women researchers more visible (and searchable!), will highlight how much they contribute to the research that is done in the University and affiliated institutions.

Who is it for

This website is designed for a wide audience, be it other researchers looking for particular expertise for a collaboration; the media looking for experts; those that are simply curious about what type of research is done in Cambridge, or those trying to get a clearer idea of what a ‘typical’ woman researcher in this years old institution does (there is no ‘typical’!).

The StepWide programme

StepWide was designed by 3 postdocs at Cambridge (see below for more on Marta, Laura and Cemre). It aims to support female postdoctoral researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, from any discipline, who feel that taking a step into leadership is not for them. The programme is designed to suit both early and more senior postdocs, providing them with the skills to challenge the current ideas of what a leader is, learn how to raise their public profiles, as well as a close and supportive network of peer-to-peer female postdocs.

StepWide ran for the first time in 2019/2021, and we are currently running a new series of workshops in 2022/2023. We will post updates here when applications open for its next run.

Laura, Marta and Cemre (left to right on the photo) met at The Postdocs of Cambridge (PdOC) Society, at the University of Cambridge, UK. When the Researcher Development (RD) Pitch Competition was announced in late 2018, they felt this provided the ideal opportunity to work together to develop a leadership programme for women postdocs. They saw a gap in the current leadership RD provision, with a lack of opportunities that challenge current leadership views. Their proposal was successful and obtained funding for a one year pilot, giving rise to the StepWide programme.

Laura Fachal is a Senior Staff Scientist at Wellcome Sanger Institute. She earned her BS in Veterinary, MSc in Biotechnology and PhD from University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. She completed her postdoc at the Centre for Cancer Genetic Epidemiology, University of Cambridge. She is also a Research Associate at Lucy Cavendish College.

Marta Costa is a Senior Research Associate at the Department of Zoology. She did her undergrad in Biology in Lisbon, Portugal, followed by an MSc in Neuroscience at UCL in London. She then moved to Cambridge for her PhD, followed by a postdoc. She is also a Research Associate at Lucy Cavendish College.

Cemre Ustunkaya was a Post-doctoral Research Associate at the McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research. She earned her BSc in Biological Science, followed by an MSc in Archaeometry at Middle East Technical University, Turkey. She later moved to Australia for her PhD in Archaeology at The University of Queensland. She is also a postdoc affiliate at Newnham College.

Thanks and funding

StepWide was funded by the Researcher Development Pitch Competition which included support from the Researcher Development Programme, The Postdocs of Cambridge (PdOC) Society, the Postdoc Academy, the Postdoc Chairs’ Network and the Careers Service at the University of Cambridge. We are very thankful for their support. We would also like to thank Alba Gómez for her expert support with the first version of the website, and to Arian Jamasb for redesigning and implementing the newest version of this website. Finally, we thank Natacha Wilson and Rebecca Nestor for the advice and support they provided for the development of the workshops.