Coralie Salesse-Smith

Coralie Salesse-Smith

Assistant Professor

Academic History

  • Postdoctoral Research Associate (2019-2025) – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA
  • Ph.D. in Plant Biology (2018) – Cornell University, USA
  • B.Sc. in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (2012) – University of Waterloo, Canada

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Research interests

One aspect of ensuring future food security is the ability to produce more crop products using fewer resources – such as land, water, and fertilizer – in the face of climate change. In the Salesse-Smith lab, we are helping to address this challenge by using synthetic biology to study the molecular mechanisms of carbon metabolism and photosynthesis, with the goal of engineering crops with improved productivity and resilience. Our main target is the enzyme Rubisco, which is responsible for nearly all biological carbon fixation, but we are also interested in other components of leaf carbon assimilation. Our research combines plant physiology and molecular biology to address fundamental questions about photosynthesis and, ultimately, use this knowledge to benefit society.

Selected publications:

C.E. Salesse-Smith, N. Adar, B. Kannan, T. Nguyen, W. Wei, M. Guo, Z. Ge, F. Altpeter, T.E. Clemente, and S.P. Long. (2025) Adapting C4 photosynthesis to atmospheric change and increasing productivity by elevating Rubisco content in Sorghum and Sugarcane. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 122 (8), e2419943122

C.E. Salesse-Smith, Y. Wang and S.P. Long. (2025) Increasing Rubisco as a simple means to enhance photosynthesis and productivity now without lowering nitrogen use efficiency. New Phytologist. 245 (3) 917-1330

C.E. Salesse-Smith, E.B. Lochocki, L. Doran, B.E. Haas, S.S. Stutz, S.P. Long. (2024) Greater mesophyll conductance and leaf photosynthesis in the field through modified cell wall porosity and thickness via AtCGR3 expression in tobacco. Plant Biotechnology Journal. 22 (9), 2504-2517

D. Stern, C.E. Salesse-Smith, and L. Feiz. (2024) Compositions and methods useful for the regulation of abiotic stress responses in higher plants, US Patent – 11859194

C.E. Salesse-Smith, R.E. Sharwood, F.A. Busch, D.B. Stern. (2020) Increased Rubisco content in maize mitigates chilling stress and speeds recovery. Plant Biotechnology Journal. 18 (6), 1409-1420

C.E. Salesse-Smith, R.E. Sharwood, F.A. Busch, J. Kromdijk, V. Bardal, D.B. Stern. (2018) Overexpression of Rubisco subunits with RAF1 increases Rubisco content in maize. Nature plants. 4 (10), 802-810