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DIVERSITY
CHEMICAL
ENDANGERED
Aster alpinus
Exploring chemical diversity
Leonardo Saldanha
My research is centered on the study of the chemical diversity that might be lost with vanishing plants. I've been working to develop a large-scale metabolomics research workflow using material from herbaria and botanical gardens collections to accelerate chemical knowledge of endangered species of the world's flora.
Conservation of the endangered chemistry
Humanity strongly relies on plant’s chemodiversity for foods, fibres, energy and medicines. However, little is known about how much of the chemical diversity is threatened by plant extinction.Through my research, I aim to generate new information useful to guide conservation plans and studies in regions with a high density unique chemical diversity (hotspots) or of overlooked endangered plants (darkspots).
Metabolomics approach
Integrating analytical and computational metabolomic approaches, I address both fundamental and applied questions about phytochemical diversity of natural products. I have combined and optimised cutting-edge techniques such as molecular networking, PCA-based structural positioning, and spectral bases to navigate in chemical spaces and speed up the identification of biologically relevant natural products.
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