Awards: Leonardo Caproni, a researcher at the Sant'Anna School, receives the Gruppo 2003 Young Researchers Award for the subject area "Agriculture". The motivations for the awards

Gruppo 2003 per la ricerca scientifica, a non-profit and social promotion association, has proclaimed the winners of the 3rd edition of the Young Researchers Award, an important acknowledgement for emerging talents in Italian research. For the Agriculture subject area, Leonardo Caproni, a researcher at Scuola Sant'Anna, receives the award in 2023, thanks to his publication "The genomic and bioclimatic characterization of Ethiopian barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) unveils challenges and opportunities to adapt to a changing climate".

The climate crisis impacts many aspects, including food security, especially in the southern part of the world. The research conducted by Leonardo Caproni examines more than 400 varieties of barley grown in Ethiopia, which is characterized by high adaptability to different environmental conditions. Using DNA sequencing of the samples, the research team extrapolates information about adaptation mechanisms and reflects on possible solutions in future scenarios, through the use of climate models, genomic data and artificial intelligence, to limit the impacts of climate change on crops.