Mª Isabel Escribano Garaizábal

Bachelor and PhD in Biological Sciences by the UCM, began her research stage as a collaborator and FPU scholarship holder in the Department of Plant Biology I, studying the hormonal regulation of the reversibility of aging in leaves attached to plants and the mechanisms that regulate the biosynthesis and transport of polyamines as well as its biological functions. The results obtained contributed to a deeper understanding of the involvement of polyamines in cell metabolism, leading to elevated number of publications in high-impact SCI journals. The postdoctoral stage began in 1991 with her incorporation to the research group of Dr. Carmen Merodio POSTBIOTEC of the IF-CSIC. The study of the relevance of free and conjugated polyamines, as well as the regulation of key enzymes of their biosynthesis, in ripening and in the susceptibility of tropical fruits to low storage temperatures was pioneering in this area. In October 1993 he joined Prof. Philip John’s group at the Department of Agricultural Botany, University of Reading (United Kingdom), focusing his research on the regulation of the ACC oxidase enzyme from custard apple. As a Senior Scientist, since February 1997, and through the financing of National Projects, three of them being PI, her scientific career focuses on the identification of physiological and biochemical markers functionally involved in the improvement of tolerance to low temperature and in fungal control, activated by treatment with high concentrations of CO2 in climacteric and non-climacteric fruits. It is worth noting the differential induction of proteins functionally involved in the protection of macromolecules and cellular structures against dehydration, such as dehydrins, chitinases and 1,3-β-glucanases with high capacity as cryoprotectors or catalytically active chitinases at low temperatures with high activity as antifungals.