Update research.md

research.md

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-*My academic research primarily focuses on forest pathology, a branch of plant pathology that studies diseases affecting forests and tree species. The main pathogens I investigate are fungi.*
+My academic research primarily focuses on forest pathology, a branch of plant pathology that studies diseases affecting forests and tree species. The main pathogens I investigate are fungi.
 
 As a PhD Student, I am examining the interactions between hosts and pathogens, specifically within the Cypress Canker Disease pathosystem. I conduct Dual-RNA sequencing experiments to identify the genes involved in the response to infection and to observe the effects of different climatic regimes on inoculated plants. This aspect is particularly important for understanding how cypress trees respond to diseases in the context of climate change.
 
 ## My Research Interests
 
 **Forest Pathology**: Forests are vital ecosystems increasingly at risk from various factors. Climate change and the rampant international trade that facilitates the movement of alien organisms exert significant pressure on forest health. Consequently, forests are becoming more susceptible to attacks from pathogenic microorganisms.
 
-**Host-Pathogen Interaction**: I study what happens during different steps of the infection process by applying dual-RNA sequencing. When plant and pathogen interact with each other, many conditions can influence the outcome of an infection. I am dedicated to understanding these processes by studying the [Cypress Canker Disease](https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/diseases/cypress-canker) pathosystem.
+**Host-Pathogen Interaction**: I study what happens during different steps of the infection process by applying dual-RNA seq. When plants and pathogens interact with each other, many conditions can influence the outcome of an infection. I am dedicated to understanding these processes by studying the [Cypress Canker Disease](https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/diseases/cypress-canker) pathosystem.
 
-**Fungal Genomics**: Understanding how fungi evolve and cause disease is a key aspect of the genomic analyses I conduct. Fungi are ideal organisms for these types of studies because they have a comparatively small genome. Their genomes have been increasingly studied in recent years, revealing many secrets that make them highly intriguing organisms.
+**Fungal Genomics**: Understanding how fungi evolve and cause disease is a key aspect of the genomic analyses I conduct. Fungi are ideal organisms for these types of studies because they have comparatively small genomes. Their genomes have been increasingly studied in recent years, revealing many secrets that make them highly intriguing organisms.
 
 **Evolution and Coevolution**: One of the most interesting questions in biology is understanding the evolutionary mechanisms that lead certain organisms to become pathogens. This topic expands further when we consider the reciprocal influence that pathogens and hosts exert on each other's populations.
 
-**Computational Biology**: I am a data analysis enthusiast. Since I took my first course on statistics, I have never stopped coding! I have grown my skills over time and keep learning new computational methods as a passion. I mainly work with [Savio](https://research-it.berkeley.edu/services-projects/high-performance-computing-savio), which is the UC Berkeley computational cluster.
-
-## My PhD Project
-
-Cypress Canker Disease (CCD) is a pandemic caused by the Ascomycetes fungi _Seiridum cardinale_, _S. unicorne_, and _S. cupressi_. Among these, _S. cardinale_ is the most destructive to many plants belonging to the Cupressaceae family, and was introduced in the 1940s in Europe from California. Given the devastating impact on _Cupressus sempervirens_, huge efforts have been made in the past for the selection of CCD-resistant cypress clones. Despite CCD’s significance as a worldwide disease, molecular-based approaches have not been adequately explored, particularly to address CCD host-pathogen interaction. The aim of my doctoral research is to understand the coevolutionary relationship between _S. cardinale_ and _C. sempervirens_, the genes involved in cypress resistance to CCD, and the effect that climate plays on gene expression during the infection.
-
-Understanding these aspects involves different studies.
-
-### Comparative Genomics
-
-In order to assess the evolutionary relationship between these _Seiridium_ species, I am conducting a comparative genomics study. This analysis will help understand what the genomic features are that made _Seiridium_ such a lethal pathogen worldwide, and why _S. cardinale_ was a successful pathogen in the Mediterranean Basin.
-
-### Host-Pathogen Interaction
-
-In order to understand host-pathogen interaction, I am applying the Dual-RNA sequencing technique. This type of experiment involves the inoculation of cypress plants with _Seiridium cardinale_ and then the extraction of total RNA from infected symptomatic tissues. The aim is to characterize at the molecular level why some cypress clones are resistant to the infection. We aim to characterize which pathways resistant plants activate post-infection, while susceptible plants do not.
-
-### Climate Change Effects
-
-The last aspect of my project involves understanding the effect of climate change on the CCD pathosystem. In order to test what happens while infected plants are exposed to different climates, I took advantage of the astonishing climatic diversity that is present in California. I placed three sets of cypress plants in three different locations in California: one along the coast where the summer climate is characterized by a Mediterranean climate with the presence of fog (18°C / 11°C); one in the Bay Area characterized by a Mediterranean climate with a cold summer (22°C / 12°C); and one in the inland of California characterized by a Mediterranean hot summer (34°C / 14°C). The plants will be inoculated and total RNA will be extracted from infected symptomatic tissues. This will help us understand what genes are involved in the infections when plants are exposed to different climates. I aim to produce evidence that will help understand what will happen to cypress plants in the context of climate change.
-
+**Computational Biology**: I am a data analysis enthusiast. Since I took my first course on Statistics, I have never stopped coding! I have grown my skills over time and keep learning new computational methods as a passion. I mainly work with [Savio](https://research-it.berkeley.edu/services-projects/high-performance-computing-savio), which is the UC Berkeley computational cluster.
 
+# My PhD Project 
 
+Cypress Canker Disease (CCD) is a pandemic caused by the Ascomycetes fungi _Seiridum cardinale_, _S. unicorne_, and _S. cupressi_. Among these, _S. cardinale_ is the most destructive of many plants belonging to the Cupressaceae family, and was introduced in the 1940s in Europe from California. Given the devastating impact on Cupressus sempervirens, huge efforts have been made in the past for the selection of CCD-resistant cypress clones. Despite CCD’s significance as a worldwide disease, molecular-based approaches have not been adequately explored, particularly to address CCD host-pathogen interaction. The aim of my doctoral research is to understand the coevolutionary relationship between _S. cardinale_ and _C. sempervirens_, the genes involved in cypress resistance to CCD, and the effect that climate plays on gene expression during the infection.
 
+Understanding these aspects involves different studies:
 
+- In order to assess the evolutionary relationship between these Seiridium species, I am conducting a comparative genomics study. This analysis will help understand what are the genomic features that made _Seiridum_ such a lethal pathogen worldwide, and why _S. cardinale_ was a successful pathogen in the Mediterranean Basin.
+- To understand host-pathogen interaction, I am applying the Dual-RNA seq technique. This type of experiment involves the inoculation of cypress plants with _Seiridium cardinale_ and then the extraction of total RNA from infected symptomatic tissues. The aim is to characterize at the molecular level why some cypress clones are resistant to the infection. We aim to characterize which pathways resistant plants activate post-infection, while susceptible plants do not.
+- The last aspect of my project involves understanding the climate change effect on the CCD pathosystem. In order to test what happens while infected plants are exposed to different climates, I took advantage of the astonishing climatic diversity that is present in California. I placed three sets of cypress plants in three different locations in California: one along the coast where summer climate is characterized by Mediterranean climate with presence of fog (18°C / 11°C); one in the Bay Area characterized by Mediterranean climate and cold summer (22°C / 12°C); and one in the inland of California characterized by Mediterranean hot summer (34°C / 14°C). The plants will be inoculated and total RNA will be extracted from infected symptomatic tissues. This will help us understand what genes are involved in the infections when plants are exposed to different climates. I aim to produce evidence that will help understand what will happen to cypress plants in the climate change context.
 
+## Research Sites Map
 
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