Research Interests
Dr. Ferrieri is a radiochemist whose research is focused on developing new technology
using radiotracers to interrogate induced sink strength in plants at metabolic and whole-plant
levels. Fundamental research geared to understanding how plant metabolism is regulated
across scales from cellular biochemistry to whole-plant physiology is key to DOE’s success
in areas such as improved carbon sequestration by plants, and improved plant feedstock for biofuel.
Dr. Ferrieri uses short-lived radiotracers such as 13N (t1/2 ,10 m), 11C (t1/2, 20 m) to insert
radioactive probes into various parts of a plant’s metabolic machinery, and using a combination of
in vivo imaging techniques and nuclear counting techniques, he measures changes in metabolic fluxes
that can give rise to changes in resource allocation at the whole-plant level. His recent focus here
is to understand the timing by which metabolic control and gene regulation coordinate with the
modification of cell walls—a major metabolic sink in plants. His interests also center on developing
new imaging biomarkers that are suitable for quantifying changes in lignocellulosic properties of cell
walls, as well as aid in the multi-modality imaging of dynamic processes.
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