I am an assistant professor leading the laboratory Plant Immunity and Growth embedded in Translational Plant Biology.
Our research focuses on understanding the plant immune system and its interaction with growth and physiology, which is an important target of crop improvement. Our research is based not only on the model organism from Brassicaceae (Arabidopsis thaliana) but also on lettuce, which is a model organism for the largest family of plants - Asteraceae. The specific research directions are:
- identification and characterisation of immune receptors recognising lettuce downy mildew - Bremia lactucae
- transcriptional and growth responses of lettuce to the plant defence hormone salicylic acid (SA)
- identification of new factors regulating growth-defence trade-off in lettuce and Arabidopsis
My background is in plant immune receptors sharing similarities with Toll-like receptors of animals (TIR domains) and their signaling to cell death and resistance.
We use a range of research methods such as genome-wide association mapping, large-scale RNAseq profiling, proteomics, CRISPR/Cas mutagenesis, cell biotechnology, targeted chromatin purification, and phylogenetic analyses.
The above research questions are investigated within projects in the public-private consortia LettuceKnow and CropXR. Also, we are happy to have support from NWO.
Feel free to reach out if you want to learn more about our activities or contribute to them. We offer diverse opportunities for BSc and MSc research internships and are happy to support you in applications for personal PhD and postdoc fellowships and grants.