Service learning: growing with heart and mind

Laura De Gara is Full Professor of Plant Physiology at the University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, where she also holds the position of Deputy Vice-Rector with responsibility for Education. She is President of the Master's Degree Course in Food Science and Human Nutrition and held the position of Dean of the Departmental Faculty of Science and Technology for Man and the Environment, now renamed Faculty of Science and Technology for Sustainable Development and One Health, from 2019 to 2022.

Over the years, she has been President of the Italian Society of Plant Biology. She is secretary general of the Federation of European Societies of Plant Biology. Her research lines range from antioxidants to functional foods, with a focus on cellular redox regulation and plant responses to oxidative stress and climate change.
She has held important positions on numerous committees, including the Ministry of Education's Committee on Nutrition Education, and has served on the editorial boards of scientific journals of international relevance. Her research continues to profoundly influence the field of plant biology, with concrete applications in agriculture and human nutrition.