Dra. In Agrarian Sciences from the UACh obtained the Avonni National Innovation Award 2022

Francisca Castillo is focused on the development of new seeds, enabling the generation of crops that are more resilient to climate change, friendlier to the environment, more nutritious and achieving higher yields, and in this journey she obtained great recognition, including the Avonni Award and Startup of the year 2022

By Lorenzo Palma Morales, Science in Chile.-Dr. Francisca Castillo; A graduate of the Doctorate in Agricultural Sciences from the Austral University of Chile, she obtained the Avonni prize in the “Volcanoes” category, which corresponds to initiatives that originate in the Araucanía, Los Lagos or Los Ríos region, as a representative of the area South of the country. This recognition that seeks to make visible the success stories that are creating value through innovation in different areas and categories.

“Getting these awards is a boost of energy,” explains Castillo, to continue the growth of NeoCrop Technologies, a Startup that he directs and that is focused on improving vegetable crops in agriculture, to make them more nutritious, more productive and more resilient to the effects of climate change.

From basic to postgraduate

The current researcher was born in Santiago de Chile, but later she moved with her family to Curacautín, a town in the La Araucanía region, where she studied up to eighth grade. After that stage and to continue high school, she traveled to Valdivia, where she studied up to fourth grade, undergraduate and postgraduate. Throughout her basic, secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate education, she acknowledges having been very dedicated, studious, and outstanding, as well as having been captivated by biochemistry from 7th grade, to the point of being her only option when applying for a University.

Upon finishing his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at the Universidad Austral de Chile, he continued his doctorate at the Graduate School of the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences in the same house of studies, but in the area of ​​Agricultural Sciences, something different from what common in that professional career, he explains, “when I did my professional practice (2012) I got closer to the agricultural biotechnological world, and I visualized an emerging niche in the area of ​​molecular biology of agricultural crops, which I liked for being a very applicable area with social impact, where one can contribute to the knowledge to assist the genetic improvement of crops.

Working with crops of food interest undoubtedly motivated me. For this reason, prior to graduating as a Biochemist, I contacted Dr. Daniel Calderini, a prominent crop physiologist, who was conducting research at the physiological and molecular level, carrying out experiments in real field conditions. research that has the objective of impacting and contributing to the improvement in the productivity of food crops”.

What would you highlight about the PhD program in Agricultural Sciences?

I would like to highlight the training I received from a top-level faculty, I received comprehensive training in agricultural sciences, basic knowledge of soil-plant-animal; Most of the courses were practical-theoretical, which allowed me to get closer to real field conditions from the beginning of my doctoral training, something important, since my undergraduate degree is in biochemistry, where the area of ​​agronomy was not strong.

My doctoral thesis was key, I did it with Dr. Daniel Calderini, a globally renowned scientist, which allowed me to connect and collaborate on national and international projects. Beyond the program’s curriculum, accessing courses organized by the Graduate School and taught by expert scientists recognized for their trajectory, gave me a solid foundation of knowledge and state-of-the-art tools, just to mention a few: “Writing of scientific papers” (Dr. Gustavo Slafer), “The components of the phenotypic variance of crops: conceptual tools” (Dr. Víctor Sadras), “Crop Molecular Genetics and Genomics” (Dr. Cristóbal Uauy), among others.

Also important was all the support received by the Graduate School and the CONICYT national doctoral scholarship at that time, since they gave me the opportunity to take postgraduate courses at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, do a doctoral internship at “The University of York” and visit the John Innes Centre, both institutions located in the United Kingdom, and also present my advances in doctoral research at national and international conferences, including the “19th International Sunflower Conference”, held in Edirne, Turkey. , and the “7th International Crop Science Congress” in Beijing, China.

I learned what it means to do good science, collaborate with different top-level research groups and be able to contribute to knowledge by disseminating our advances in scientific conferences, in scientific articles published in high-impact journals, among others.

How did the training in the program contribute in relation to your current projects and research?

The doctoral program in Cs. Agriculture and my Biochemistry degree are the basis of my training as an interdisciplinary scientist. The program allowed me to connect with agronomy and carry out research in real field conditions, applying tools of molecular biology and crop genetics to understand the mechanisms that determine yield. in grain crops such as sunflower and wheat.

I acquired a solid base of knowledge, scientific and technological tools, but beyond that I think it is important to highlight that what has contributed the most to my current projects and research is the opportunity that the PhD program in Cs gave me. Agrarias to meet and work hand in hand with great scientists, beginning with my PhD tutor, Dr. Calderini, Dr. Simon McQueen Mason (RIP), Dr. Déborah Rondanini, Dr. Cristóbal Uauy, Dr. Javier Canales, Dr. Anita Arenas, among others.

Going abroad and collaborating with scientists from different institutions and countries gave me the vision of how science and development are progressing in the world, what are the global trends in agri-food systems and also realizing that good science is done in Chile , and that everything is possible by making good synergies and collaborating, that we can combine and complement disciplines and be a contribution to knowledge, which today, together with the great team that makes up Neocrop Technologies, we are capable of translating to advance in the development of innovative solutions. and generate new improved plant varieties in record time.

What motivates you the most about being a researcher and founder of NeoCrop Technologies?

In my path as a scientist I discovered that my purpose is to be able to translate scientific knowledge and generate innovative solutions that improve our agriculture, particularly contributing to the development of new plant varieties of crops that are more nutritious, productive and resilient to climate change, given the great global challenges. facing agricultural systems and considering that agricultural seeds are the basis of our diet. This purpose was implemented in Neocrop Technologies and it is what motivates me the most and encourages me to work with enthusiasm to be a contribution hand in hand with the seed companies that today carry out traditional plant genetic improvement, which, although it has contributed a lot to what Throughout history, it is extremely slow and we do not have time to respond to the tremendous challenges in food security and climate change. Today there are cutting-edge tools such as genetic editing and information technologies that are revolutionizing agriculture, that are changing the way of producing food, that is how I believe that together with the founding partners of Neocrop we had the vision and realized where we were going. The world is moving, since the first genetically “edited” crops are only now being launched on the market. The contact network that I developed as a researcher trained at the UACh and that I continue to cultivate and grow, is also a tremendous boost to collaborate, create synergies and open doors and be able to materialize all the ideas and projects that we have at Neocrop Technologies.