A Global Research Journey: Fabio's path from olive groves to viroid research

To mark the 30th anniversary of MSCA, ViroiDoc invites its doctoral candidates to share their mobility experiences in a blog series in 2026.

After my bachelor's studies in Bologna, I wanted to go abroad as a personal challenge, so I moved to Wageningen University in the Netherlands for a master's in plant pathology and entomology, the best experience of my life, both for the people I met and for everything I learned, in the classroom and beyond. I also spent six months in Switzerland as an intern at an organic agriculture research center, where I learned to actually put plant pathology into practice, moving from theory to real diagnostic work in the field.

Even while still a master's student at Wageningen, I chose to return to Italy for my thesis, drawn to study up close a pathogen that had spent over a decade threatening one of my region's greatest treasures: its olive trees, under attack from Xylella fastidiosa. Once that chapter was done, I learned about a PhD opportunity on viroid pathogenesis at CNR-IPSP in Bari, a natural fit for the experimental approach I'd built up through all my studies.

What I'd missed most about home, without realizing it, was the sun, so different from the grey Dutch autumns and winters. But living close to the sea turned out to be an unexpected bonus of coming home, especially being able to enjoy it after work in the summer. And, of course, the food: I already knew Italian food was the best in the world, but after so long away I was surprised all over again by how good it felt to eat something fresh, cheap, and delicious, even just street food.

My biggest small victory since moving back isn't a single moment, but a quiet, ongoing feeling: being close to family and old friends again, and actually being able to show up, especially on weekends at my family's farm, where I help out, spend time with my dogs, and keep growing a small project I started two years ago, selling my own olive oil. Watching it grow alongside my research is the quiet victory that tells me I'm home.

If I had to capture this journey through one cultural lens, I'd pick a song: "Vieni a ballare in Puglia" by Caparezza. It plays with regional stereotypes, but underneath there's real affection for this land, much like how I feel about being back, dancing with it again, on my own terms.

Fabio D'Alessandro is an MSCA fellow in the ViroiDoc Network, where he is conducting the research project “Dissection of viroid pathogenesis through omics and phenotyping approaches” at CNR-IPSP under the supervision of Francesco Di Serio. In parallel, he is pursuing a PhD at the University of Bari Aldo Moro under the supervision of Tiziana Mascia.