DrClaudiaRocco

I am a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow in the Division of Cell & Molecular Biology and Environmental Geochemistry group at Imperial College London. The fellowship is in collaboration with the groups of Dr Gerald Larrouy-Maumus and Prof. Colin Turnbull at the Life Science department, Prof. Dominik Weiss at the Earth Science & Engineering department and with Prof. Ramon Vilar from the Chemistry department at Imperial College London. Other collaborators are Prof. Wissuwa from IRRI/JIRCAS, Dr Suzuki from Aichi Steele and Prof Garcia from University of Valencia. My research project “The role of mugineic acid in uptake of trace metals in plants - MAZinc” is funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

The main objective of this project is to gain a better understanding of the role of phytosiderophores in the uptake of zinc (Zn) and other trace metals by rice and other Poaceae under micronutrient deficiency conditions.

To achieve this, we will i) use the latest generation of LC-MS/MS with improved sensitivity and detection limits for the determination of DMA and metal-DMA complexes to quantifying the low concentrations of DMA and metal-DMA complexes in soils and plants; ii) ​ develop an experimental system that reproduce Zn deficiency in the laboratory using pot and hydroponic experiments to stimulate DMA production​; iii) use computational chemistry to study the stability of metal-siderophore systems. We will combine direct observation and computational methods to predict the stability of Zn-DMA complexes and its competition with other cations.

The outcomes of this research project will help us to better understand the role of DMA in the solubilization and uptake of Zn that will enable us to develop long term strategies to mitigate malnutrition problem.

• Environmental chemistry
• Organic-metal complexes formation in soil environment
• Trace metal uptake by plants
• Nutrient deficiency
• Metal bioavailability
• Metal translocation
• Analytical chemistry

I read Agricultural Sciences at the University of Naples Federico II, Italy. I received my degree “cum laude” with a thesis entitled "Cluster compactness, vegetative and productive activities and quality in Aglianico grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) subjected to defoliation or shading during flowering".

As a PhD student, I worked as soil chemist on the characterization and remediation of soils polluted by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) at the University of Naples Federico II, Italy, in the groups of Professor Paola Adamo and Professor Massimo Fagnano (Department of Agricultural sciences). As part of my PhD work, I spent six months (from September 2014 to February 2015) in the Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR) - University of South Australia - under the supervision of Professor Nanthi S. Bolan, studying the influence of organic and inorganic amendments on the bioavailability of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) in soils before and after plant growth. I also spent four years (from December 2012 to July 2017) at Contaminated Sites and Remediation – Regional Agency for Environmental protection – Campania (formerly known as ARPAC - U.O.C. Siti Contaminati e Bonifiche, Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione Ambientale Campania, South Italy) working on the assessment of soils contamination by potentially toxic metals and environmental risk.

In 2016, I received a PhD in Agrobiology and Agrochemistry submitting a thesis on the characterization, sampling, bioavailability assessment and amendment application in the remediation of soils polluted by potentially toxic metals (PTMs).

From September 2015 to July 2017, I worked as postdoc for Interdepartmental Research Centre for Environment (IR.C.ENV.), University of Naples Federico II (formerly known as CIRAM), on the analytical assessment of mobility/bioavailability of metal pollutants in soil undertaking bioremediation treatments, and then, on the analysis of the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on the mobility and bioavailability of potentially toxic metals in soil.

Great part of my PhD and post-doc work was developed within the European project LIFE – ECOREMED (LIFE11/ENV/IT/275-ECOREMED) on the development of eco-compatible protocols for the remediation of agricultural soils, granted as “Best of the best award 2016-2017” from the EU, in the category of Enviroment, Nature.

From December 2012 to July 2017, I taught laboratory analysis and practices in the course of Soil Chemistry of Professor Paola Adamo. In 2016, I was invited to give a lecture on soil sampling methods and analytical techniques for soil pollution and mobility/bioavailability of pollutants assessment during the winter school ECOREMED (13-15 December 2016) - Innovative methods for analysis and management of degraded and/or contaminated sites. In September 2018, I was invited as speaker by the Società Italiana di Chimica Agraria (SICA - Italian Society of Agricultural Chemistry) to present my PhD research work (24-26 September 2018).

Then, I took some time off from academia, looking for exciting new opportunities of research. I improved my communication and teaching skills working as teacher in a scientific lyceum and, during this period, I developed research ideas together with Professor Dominik Weiss, Dr Gerald Larrouy-Maumus and Prof. Colin Turnbull, for the Marie Skłodowska-Curie proposal. Since October 2021, I am a postdoctoral research fellow at Imperial College London.

Awards

• 22/03/2020: Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship funded by the European Commission for three years at Imperial College London, Department of Earth Science and Engineering and Department of Life Science.
• 24-26/09/2018: Best Ph.D. thesis award 2018. Conferred by Società Italiana di Chimica Agraria (SICA, Italian Society of Agricultural Chemistry).
• 28/04/2016. Best presentation award for the Ph.D. dissertation. Conferred by the Ph.D. committee.

Memberships

• Since 2022: Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (MRSC)

Northover, G.H.R., Mao, Y., Blasco, S., Vilar R., Garcia-España E., Rocco C, Hanif Md, Weiss D.J., 2022. Synergistic use of siderophores and weak organic ligands during zinc transport in the rhizosphere controlled by pH and ion strength gradients. Sci Rep 12, 6774. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-10493-5

Fagnano, D. Agrelli, A. Pascale, P. Adamo, N. Fiorentino, C. Rocco, O. Pepe, V. Ventorino, 2020. Copper accumulation in agricultural soils: Risks for the food chain and soil microbial populations. Science of the Total Environment 734, 139434.

Ventorino, A. Pascale, M. Fagnano, P. Adamo, V. Faraco, C. Rocco, N. Fiorentino, O. Pepe, 2019. Soil tillage and compost amendment promote bioremediation and biofertility of polluted area. Journal of Cleaner Production 239, 118087.

Ventorino, A. Pascale, P. Adamo, C. Rocco, N. Fiorentino, M. Mori, V. Faraco, O. Pepe, M. Fagnano, 2018. Comparative assessment of autochthonous bacterial and fungal communities and microbial biomarkers of polluted agricultural soils of the Terra dei Fuochi. Scientific Reports 8(14281):1-13.

C. Rocco, D. Agrelli, M. Tafuro, A.G. Caporale, P. Adamo, 2018. Assessing bioavailability of potentially toxic elements in soil: a proposed approach. Italian Journal of Agronomy [Special Issue]13(S1):16-22.

C. Rocco, B. Seshadri, P. Adamo, N. S. Bolan, K. Mbene, R. Naidu, 2018. Impact of waste-derived organic and inorganic amendments on the mobility and bioavailability of arsenic and cadmium in alkaline and acid soils. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25(26):25896-25905.

C. Rocco, D. Agrelli, I. Coppola, I. González, P. Adamo, 2018. Native plant colonization of brownfield soil and sludges: effects on substrate properties and pollutant mobility. [Special Issue] Journal of Soils and Sediments, 18 (6): 2282-2291.

Fiorentino, V. Ventorino, C. Rocco, V. Cenvinzo, D. Agrelli, L. Gioia, I. Di Mola, P. Adamo, O. Pepe, M. Fagnano, 2017. Giant reed growth and effects on soil biological fertility in assisted phytoremediation of an industrial polluted soil. Science of the Total Environment 575: 1375-1383.

C. Rocco, I. Duro, S. Di Rosa, M. Fagnano, N. Fiorentino, A. Vetromile, P. Adamo, 2016. Composite vs. discrete soil sampling in assessing soil pollution of agricultural sites affected by solid waste disposal. Journal of Geochemical Exploration 170: 30-38.

Seshadri, N.S. Bolan, R. Matheyarasu, R. Thangarajan, H. Wijesekara, F. Qi, C. Rocco, K. Mbene, R. Naidu, 2016. Phosphorus-cadmium interactions in paddy soils. Geoderma 270: 43-59.

Book chapters:

C. Rocco, D. Agrelli, P. Adamo. Chapter 3: Green and sustainable remediation as an option to manage and recover soil polluted by anthropogenic activities. In: Soil constraints and productivity, 2023. Edited by CRC Press. DOI: 10.1201/9781003093565-3

Chapter 6. Chemical monitoring, 2017. Chapter 6a: S. Di Rosa, P. Adamo, C. Rocco. Analytical determination of soil contamination by potentially toxic metals and hydrocarbons. Chapter 6b: P. Adamo, D. Agrelli, A. G. Caporale, C. Rocco. Chemical monitoring of the bioavailability of potentially toxic metals. In: Operative Handbook - for eco-compatible remediation of degraded soils (Ediguida), pp. 51-69. Translated in Italian and English.