Giulia Lauria is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Illinois in the Leonelli Lab. For the RIPE project, she investigates the role of the lutein epoxide cycle in optimising energy harvesting and photoprotection to enhance photosynthetic performance in shaded environments. Giulia earned her bachelors degree in Herbal Sciences, her masters degree in Agricultural Studies, and her doctorate degree in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry from the University of Pisa. She did postdoctoral studies in Plant Physiology and Biochemistry at the University of Pisa.