BIO

Hi! I am Guy and I am a Ph.D. Candidate here at Sessa Lab. 

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I was first introduced to the subject of host-pathogen interactions during my undergraduate studies when I took a class given by Prof. Guido Sessa. This is where I learned about the ongoing arms race between plants and pathogens. During my M.Sc. studies, I worked in Sessa Lab. I designed and executed a screen to identify enzymatically active proteins secreted by pathogenic bacteria into host plant cells.

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For my Ph.D. research, I am focusing on characterizing tomato immune signaling complexes and investigating their role in regulating defense responses. Using molecular biology techniques, I was able to identify a tomato receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase that interacts with plant receptors of bacterial flagellin and is involved in immune signaling and pre-invasion immunity. Our research is contributing to a more profound understanding of plant immune signaling networks and the identification of their protein components.