Alfonso Ortega Garrido

I work as an Associate Professor at the University of Extremadura, in the Department of Plant Biology, Ecology, and Earth Sciences, within the field of Plant Physiology. I am a member of the Plant Cell and Molecular Biology and Physiology research group, as well as the University Research Institute for Agrarian Resources (INURA). I hold a degree in Biology and completed the Master's Degree in Research in Sciences at the University of Extremadura (UNEX), carrying out my master's thesis (TFM) on plant-pathogen/mycorrhizal fungus interactions in the field of Plant Physiology and under the supervision of Dr. Carmen Tinaut. Subsequently, I received a predoctoral research contract grant from the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM), allowing me to pursue my doctoral thesis in Dr. Carmen Fenoll's research group, within the Plant Physiology area of the Environmental Sciences Department at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM). My doctoral thesis focused on studying the master genes of stomatal development in the bHLH family, enabling me to acquire skills in plant molecular biology and the generation, development, and analysis of transgenic plant mutant lines. I was supervised by Drs. Carmen Fenoll and Montaña Mena. After completing my fellowship, I took on a postdoctoral position associated with research projects funded by the

Ministry of Education and Science and the JCCM. Later, I secured a position as a junior breeder at the seed company Enza Zaden SL, where I worked on solanaceous crop breeding and phytopathology, investigating the TSWV virus, conducting infection tests, and analyzing potential sources of tolerance in solanaceous crops. Additionally, I obtained a Torres Quevedo grant from the Ministry of Science and Innovation to develop a research project on the breeding of solanaceous crops under abiotic stress conditions, specifically salinity stress. In December 2021, I achieved a faculty and research position at the University of Extremadura. Throughout my academic and professional career, I have collaborated with various research groups, including Dr. Simón Ruíz's group at the University of Talca in Chile and Dr. Antonio Molina's group at the CBGP. These collaborations resulted in two manuscripts published in

Q1-ranked Plant Science journals. Beyond these, I have an additional nine Q1 publications and three book chapters on topics in Plant Science. Regarding scientific conferences, I have attended and participated in more than 30 national and international conferences, presenting research findings in poster and oral formats. I have also served as a member of the Scientific Committee for the XVI Annual Biotechnology Congress (BAC 2023) and contributed to organizing the XXI Meeting of the Spanish Society of Plant Physiology and the Hispano-Luso Plant Physiology Congress. In terms of scientific outreach, I have participated in three outreach activities promoted by the University of Extremadura, either through oral communications or as part of the organizing team. As professor, I have taught at UCLM and UNEX, joined a teaching innovation group, and acted as the principal investigator on a teaching innovation project. I have supervised several undergraduate and master’s theses (specifically, the Master’s in Advanced Biotechnology), co-supervised a doctoral thesis, and currently co-supervise two additional doctoral theses. I also have experience in university management roles, having served as the Representative of Researchers in Training (2016–2018) at UCLM and as a semester coordinator for the Biology and Oenology degree programmes since 2023 at UNEX.