María Eugenia Zanetti
National University of La Plata-CONICET
Argentina
View Statement
In response to an invitation made by the IS-MPMI Elections Committee to serve as Director on the IS-MPMI Board for 2025-2029, I would like to express my gratitude and provide my vision for the Society in case of being selected.
As a Director of the IS-MPMI Board, I would embrace the history of the Society as a bastion of excellence in the field of Plant-Microbe Interactions. My vision emphasizes cultural and gender diversity as essential values that contribute to sustaining a creative and productive community that continues providing fundamental knowledge on different aspects of plant-microbe interaction. In addition, society will continue producing innovative ideas and approaches for sustainable use of plant-microbe interactions on a global scale.
One aspect that I consider important is to promote the inclusion and participation of young scientists, such as Ph.D. students, post-doctoral researchers, and early career investigators in the Society, as well as stimulating their attendance at the congresses organized by the IS-MPMI. As a researcher working in the Latin American region, I aim to develop connections and networks with regional societies such as the Argentinean Society of Plant Physiology, the Brazilian Society of Plant Genetics and/or the Chilean Society of Plant Biologists to cultivate diversity, inclusivity and equity beyond socioeconomic boundaries and on minority groups advocated to the study of plant-microbe interaction outside affluent countries, as well as the encouragement of international collaborations between groups in different regions of the world.
It is my commitment to serve the IS-MPMI community by actively participating in board meetings, integrating committees dedicated to congress planning, and communicating new initiatives to IS-MPMI members. In the past two years, I have served as a member of the Publication Committee of the American Society of Plant Biology (ASPB), where I gained experience working in the selection of Editors in Chief of the society's journals, reviewed monitoring and assistant editors, and advised the president of the society and the editors-in-chief on different ethical and financial aspects that arose during this period. The skills developed during my experience at ASPB will eventually help me to address the duties assigned by the President or the Board of Directors of IS-MPMI, with the aim of contributing to sustain, in the future, the foundational mission of the Society.
