Pierluigi (Enrico) Bonello, professor, molecular and chemical ecology of trees, Department of Plant Pathology in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, has been awarded a 2026-2027 Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to Spain to research “Advanced phenotyping tools for the management of ash dieback in Spain.”
From May – August 2027, Bonello will conduct forest health research focused on identifying trees resistant to non-native invasive pathogens (NIPs) using AI and spectral-based phenotyping. He will be based at Mision Biologica de Galicia, a station of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas / CSIC (Spanish National Research Council).
“This Fulbright project proposes to help Spain respond early to the first detected incursion of ash dieback by adapting and validating AI- and spectroscopy-based phenotyping tools previously developed in Sweden to rapidly identify European ash trees resistant to Hymenoscyphus fraxineus,” Bonello explained.
Working with collaborators in Galicia, Catalonia, and the TRAGSA nursery, the research will first screen ash accessions using a portable NIR sensor and an existing Swedish model, then verify results through controlled inoculation bioassays and, if needed, build a Spain-specific model if validation falls below the target threshold.
“The project’s significance lies in its potential to give Spanish forest managers a fast, non-destructive, scalable way to identify resistant germplasm early in the invasion curve, enabling breeding, restoration, and protection of ash-dependent ecosystems before damage becomes widespread. If successful, the work would produce both practical tools for conservation and broader scientific and institutional benefits through publications, outreach, and strengthened U.S.-Spain research collaboration,” Bonello noted.
“I hope to make a significant contribution to preventing the serious consequences of a developing forest health crisis on the Iberian peninsula, represented by the arrival of ash dieback. This project is clearly of high significance to the disciplines of forest pathology and conservation and will benefit my Spanish collaborators as well as anyone else working in these areas of science, leading to better forest health outcomes. At the same time, I will come away richer culturally, linguistically and academically, having interacted directly with a different culture and different governmental and academic systems and scientists than those I work with on a daily basis in the U.S.,” Bonello said.
Bonello is a two-time Fulbright U.S. Scholar Award recipient. He also received a 2022-2023 Fulbright U.S. Scholar award to Sweden to research the “Development of advanced phenotyping tools for the management of lethal, invasive alien tree pathogens (IATPs) in Sweden.” Bonello was affiliated with the Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU) in Alnarp and worked with the research team of Michelle Cleary at the Southern Swedish Forest Research Centre.
Fulbright
The Fulbright Scholar Program is administered by the Institute of International Education and is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.
For more information about the Fulbright Scholar Program contact Joanna Kukielka-Blaser. View a complete list of Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program recipients.