Pierdomenico Perata (born 24 March 1962 in

Genova Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitants ...

) is an Italian

physiologist Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out chemical and ...

whose activities are focused on

plant physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Plant physiologists study fundamental processes of plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition, plant hormone functions, tr ...

and

plant biology Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science Natural science or empirical science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empiri ...

. Since 8 May 2013 he has been the rector of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna. Perata is a member of the

Accademia dei Georgofili The Accademia dei Georgofili (Academy of Georgofili) is an educational institution in Florence, Italy. It was established in 1753. The academy has been a historic institution for over 250 years, and is best known for promoting, amongst scholars a ...

and of the National Academy of Sciences, known as Academy of the XL.

Biography

Pierdomenico Perata graduated in

Agricultural Sciences Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Professiona ...

from

University of Pisa The University of Pisa (, UniPi) is a public university, public research university in Pisa, Italy. Founded in 1343, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Together with Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced S ...

. He earned another degree in

from Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, and a PhD from the

. He was visiting scientist in

Nagoya University , abbreviated to or NU, is a Japanese national research university located in Chikusa-ku, Nagoya. It was established in 1939 as the last of the nine Imperial Universities in the then Empire of Japan, and is now a Designated National Universit ...

, Japan. He became assistant professor at the

, associate professor in

plant Physiology Plant physiology is a subdiscipline of botany concerned with the functioning, or physiology, of plants. Plant physiologists study fundamental processes of plants, such as photosynthesis, respiration, plant nutrition, plant hormone functions, tr ...

at the

University of Bari The University of Bari Aldo Moro () is a public higher education institution founded in 1925 in Bari, Apulia, in Southern Italy. The university has a student population of around 40,000. A recent name change refers to the statesman and prime mi ...

, then full professor at

University of Modena and Reggio Emilia The University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (), located in Modena and Reggio Emilia, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, is one of the oldest universities in Europe, founded in 1175, with a population of 20,000 students. The medieval university disappeared by ...

, where he was also vice dean of Agriculture from 2003 to 2004. In 2004 he came back to the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna as full professor. In 2010 he became dean of Experimental Sciences, and in 2012, after the resignation of

Maria Chiara Carrozza Maria Chiara Carrozza (born 16 September 1965) is an Italians, Italian physicist, engineer and politician who served as Ministry of Education, Universities and Research (Italy), Minister of Education, University and Research in the Letta Cabinet, ...

(who had been elected member of the

Italian Parliament The Italian Parliament () is the national parliament of the Italy, Italian Republic. It is the representative body of Italian citizens and is the successor to the Parliament of the Kingdom of Sardinia (1848–1861), the Parliament of the Kingd ...

), he became vice rector. Finally Perata was elected rector of Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in May 2013.

Scientific activity

His scientific activity is focused on

, with a main focus in

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

. He has discovered and shown experimentally that starch metabolism represents an essential metabolic intersection for plants' tolerance to hypoxia. Other noteworthy discoveries that he contributed towards include the cross-communication between

plant hormones Plant hormones (or phytohormones) are signal molecules, produced within plants, that occur in extremely low concentrations. Plant hormones control all aspects of plant growth and development, including embryogenesis, the regulation of Organ (anat ...

and metabolic signals and the oxygen sensing mechanism in plants.

Notes and references

External links

Pierdomenico Perata’s page
on Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna website
Plantlab
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perata, Pierdomenico Plant physiologists 20th-century Italian botanists 21st-century Italian botanists Living people 1962 births Scientists from Genoa University of Pisa alumni Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies alumni Academic staff of the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies Heads of universities in Italy Academic staff of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia