Dr. Nicolás Blanco

Dr. Nicolás Blanco, the Principal Investigator of CEFOBI-CONICET in the CropPrime consortium, carried out a one-month secondment at the Institute of Plant Physiology and Genetics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IPPG-BAS, Sofia, Bulgaria). The main objectives of this secondment were to (i) integrate and critically evaluate ongoing experimental results within the CROPPRIME project, (ii) advance the mechanistic understanding of bioactive compounds affecting photosynthetic regulation, and (iii) coordinate joint publications and future collaborative funding activities. Dr. Blanco had scientific meetings with Associate Professors Gergana Mihailova and Kiril Mishev focused on the physiological interpretation of ongoing results and their integration within the broader objectives of the CROPPRIME project. These discussions built upon previous interactions during Dr. Mishev's secondment in Rosario, which included a seminar at CEFOBI-CONICET.

To further strengthen the CROPPRIME collaboration and expand the network, Dr. Blanco presented a seminar outlining his group's expertise and research activities at the Center of Plant Systems Biology and Biotechnology (CPSBB, Plovdiv, Bulgaria). Together with Prof. Dr. Tsanko Gechev and Dr. Veselin Petrov from CPSBB, as well as Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kiril Mishev from IPPG-BAS, ongoing project results were discussed. In addition to scientific exchanges, potential short-term and medium-term funding opportunities to support continued collaboration were evaluated.