Laura dedicated her life to science and made a great contribution to the field of biodeterioration of cultural heritage sites, from the characterization of phototrophic biofilms deteriorating stone monuments to the development of non-invasive techniques for restoration of cultural heritage sites. Starting in 1996, she worked hard in this sector, and she obtained her PhD in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology in 2004, with a thesis on cyanobacterial biofilms at the University of Rome ‘Tor Vergata’; then, in 2008 she got a permanent position as researcher of General Botany and from 2021 she became Associate Professor of General Botany. Since 2012, she co-ordinated the laboratory of Biology of Algae at the Department of Biology of ‘Tor Vergata’ University.
Other research was focused on algal biotechnology as well as the study for the intensive cultivation of microalgal biomass for industrial applications in the energy (biodiesel), agro-environmental (wastewater treatment; biostimulants for edible plants) and nutraceutical sectors, with a view to circular economy. In both sectors, she was responsible for National and International projects, and she had a number of collaborations all over the world, because she was never able to say “no” to everyone who asked her to work together.
She dedicated herself to the training and orientation activities of students within the Scientific Macroarea of ‘Tor Vergata’ University. She loved science and her family, and everyone who had the honour to work close to her became a member of this big family, full of cheer, education and helpful. She always supported students, listening to their interest in the research projects and she was always the first to teach how to use a Gilson or make a growth medium!
She never gave up, and she worked hard till the last days…one of her last publications is from April 2023, and there are the master's degrees of students under her supervision.
We will miss her competence, knowledge, education and generosity; it will be hard to fill the huge void she left in our laboratory and life.
-Lorenza Rugnini
I want to honour the memory of Laura reporting the sentence in her WhatsApp profile: 'Do not regret what you do not have, but rejoice in what you have'.
-Francesca Cappitelli
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Francesca Cappitelli is the Editor-in-Chief of Annals of Microbiology.
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Rugnini, L., Cappitelli, F. Laura Bruno (17 September 1966–16 May 2023). Ann Microbiol 73, 23 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13213-023-01728-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13213-023-01728-5