Massimo Pilotti graduated in Agricultural Sciences and obtained a PhD in Plant Biotechnology at "La Tuscia" University, Viterbo. He is a senior researcher and works as a tree pathologist in the Research Centre for Plant Protection and Certification (CREA-DC), Rome, since 1996. He is a member of the European Mycological Network (EMN). His research focuses are on root, stem and branch diseases of ornamental and fruit tree species, with a special attention to fungal aetiology, including metagenomic investigations of the microbiota, selection for disease resistance, study of the disease resistance response, development and validation of molecular diagnostic methods.