Raffaele Testolin

Biography

Raffaele Testolin is professor at University of Udine, Italy, Co-Founder and member of the BOD of the Applied Genomics Institute (IGA), Udine, Italy, and Member of the BOD of the Foundation for research in genomics and epigenomics (FORGE).
Graduated (Laurea) in 1977 in Agriculture (Crop Science), University of Padua, Italy, he moved to University of Udine where he became full professor of Fruit Science. He was lecturer also at the University of Bologna and at the Vinifera Master in Montpellier, France.
Has served at University of Udine as member of the Board of Directors, member of Academic Senate, head of Department of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, director of the Doctorate School of Agricultural Science and Biotechnology, president of the Intellectual Property Rights and Patents Commission, coordinator of the School of Agriculture, director of the University agricultural experimental farm. He retired in 2020.
Member of Int and Natl panels of experts for the evaluation of research projects; peer reviewer of Universities and Research Institutions; member of the PhD School of Edmund Mach Foundation, He is ad hoc referee of 60+ international scientific journals in the field of molecular genetics, breeding and horticulture.
He was visiting scientist at ARO, The Volcani Center, Israel, University of Georgia, Athens GA, USA, Dept Scientific & Industrial Research, Auckland, New Zealand, where he is honorary fellow of HortResearch, now Plant & Food Research.
He is member many scientific Societies and Academies.
His main research fields have been: (a) Isolation of microsatellite DNA in fruit crops (kiwifruit, peach, almond, apricot, olive, grape, strawberry) and their use in population genetics, germplasm collections, and forensic genotyping; (b) Molecular taxonomy, genetic diversity and domestication of fruit crops; (c) Kiwifruit genetics and breeding (genetics of dioecy, genome editing for hermaphroditism, mapping and cloning quality traits, breeding for novel fruit); (d) Grape genetics and breeding (mapping and cloning genes for disease resistances, anthocyanin biosynthesis pathway, genetic determinants of aromatic profiles); (e) Apple genetics and breeding (resistance genes and associated markers, breeding for novel fruit by combining disease resistance and fruit diversity); (f) Apricot genetics (mapping and cloning the resistance to Plum Pox Virus (Sharka) in apricot); (g) Kiwifruit and apple crop science and management.