Mónica Pernas is an INIA independent researcher in the Plant Developmental Department at CBGP. She did her PhD in the area of plant defence, in the laboratory of Prof. Salcedo at the Biotechnology Department, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Unit, School of Agriculture Science of Polytechnic University in Madrid. In 1999, she joined the Prof. Jose J. Sanchez-Serrano’s lab at the National Centre of Biotechnology (CNB, CSIC) in Madrid as a post-doctoral fellow, working in the characterisation of signalling hormonal pathways in response to defence and wounding. In 2003, she did a second postdoc in Liam Dolan´s lab at the John Innes Centre (JIC, UK) working on the hormonal regulation of root stem cell niche development. From 2002 to 2005 she was a Project Scientist in the Cell and Developmental Biology Department at JIC. Later she moved as a senior postdoctoral to the Plant Sciences Department at Oxford University (UK) where she expanded her research interest into the study of root patterning. In 2012, she got a permanent position at CBGP(Madrid) where she is leading a research group focused in uncovering the genetic and molecular factors regulating root development in response to soil and environmental conditions. In particular, her research programme involves two main fields: i) analysis of root developmental traits associated to plant adaptability to extreme conditions in the Brassicaceae family with special attention to species of potential agronomic interest, principally in Brassica napus (oilseed rape) and ii) the study of root adaptation to soil during plant evolution. The ultimate goal of her lab is to assist agriculture in the evaluation and prevention of the consequences of current and future adverse environmental conditions driven by climate change on plant growth and to design crops better adapted to face this challenge.