Drought signalling
How roots warn the rest of the plant.
Utrecht, Netherlands
PhD candidate in Molecular Biology
Samuel Ortega
I study how plant cells sense drought and switch their genes on and off to survive it. My work mixes microscopy, genetics and a lot of patient watering.
Finishing my thesis in spring 2027 and looking for postdoc positions in plant stress biology.
Research interests
Live-cell imaging
Watching gene activity as it happens.Crop resilience
Turning lab results into hardier plants.
Selected papers
Root-to-shoot signals under mild drought
Ortega S., Visser M., de Groot A. · Plant Journal, 2026A bright reporter for stress genes in tomato
Ortega S., Bakker L. · New Phytologist, 2025Watering less, growing more: a review
de Groot A., Ortega S. · Trends in Plant Science, 2024
Talks
European Plant Science Congress
Lisbon · June 2026Science Café Utrecht
A public talk on thirsty plants · 2025Best poster award
Dutch Plant Biology Meeting · 2024
Education
PhD, Molecular Biology
2022 – Present
Utrecht University
Utrecht
Thesis: “Quiet signals — how roots tell leaves it is dry”.
MSc, Plant Biotechnology
2020 – 2022
University of Valencia
Valencia · Grade: With distinction
Research & teaching
Doctoral researcher
2022 – Present
Plant Stress Lab, Utrecht · Full-time
Utrecht
Imaging and gene-editing work on drought response in tomato roots.
Teaching assistant, Cell Biology
2023 – Present
Utrecht University · Part-time
Utrecht
Lab practicals for 120 first-year students each autumn.
In the lab
Root cells under the confocal Morning prep Thesis season