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Prof. Dr. Marcel Bucher

Head of the Group

Marcel Bucher comes from Switzerland where he worked as a research group leader at ETH Zurich until he moved to University of Cologne in 2006. He is deeply interested in the molecular physiology and genetics of mutually beneficial plant-microbe interactions.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-2481    |    E-mail    |    Orcid-ID    |    Twitter

 

Madeleine Emily Day

Postgraduate Researcher

Madeleine Emily Day comes from the United Kingdom and is interested in plant cell signaling and transcriptional mechanisms underlying the development of arbuscular mycorrhizal associations.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223    |    E-mail    |    Orcid-ID

 

Ana Carolina de Moraes 

Research assistant

Ana Carolina de Moraes comes from Brazil and is currently working on the interdisciplinary project "Plant-Ukraine", which combines technology with education and research and emerged from the InnoBioDiv project.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223    |    E-mail    |    Orcid-ID

 

Jan Gaertner

Postgraduate Researcher

Jan Gaertner from the Netherlands is studying the genetic interaction between Arabidopsis thaliana and its root endosymbiont Colletotrichum tofieldiae in order to deepen our understanding of the mutualistic root symbiosis and make the system more genetically accessible.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222    |    E-mail    |    Orcid-ID

 

Elena Gallina

Postgraduate Researcher

Elena Gallina comes from Italy and is interested in the interactions between the plant-host genotype and microbial community dynamics in the maize mycorrhizosphere.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222    |    E-mail    |    Orcid-ID

 

Elena Sturm

Postgraduate Researcher

Elena Sturm is from Germany and is interested in the plant kingdom's transition from aquatic to terrestrial environments. Her research focuses on the molecular and evolutionary mechanisms of the phosphate starvation response and arbuscular mycorrhiza.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222    |    E-mail    |    Orcid-ID

 

Dr. Rainer E. Häusler

Senior Scientist

Rainer Häusler is from Ger­many and his current in­ter­est is fo­cused on mu­tants and trans­genic plants with a le­sion in or al­tered ac­tiv­i­ties of plas­tidial metabo­lite trans­porters.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-2340     |     E-mail     |     Orcid-ID

 

Ulrike Hebbeker

Technical Assistant

Ulrike Hebbeker is from Germany. She has profound expertise in the extraction of secondary metabolites and nucleic acids, DNA cloning, and plant production.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-7326     |     E-mail

 

Jorge Luis Hernández Ayala

Postgraduate Researcher

Jorge Hernández, from México, is investigating the inter-organism nutrient network between Arabidopsis thaliana and its root endosymbiont Colletotrichum tofieldiae, and the genetic basis by which this metabolic partnership contributes to edaphic adaptation.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222    |    E-mail    |    Orcid-ID

 

Stefanie Junkermann

Technical Assistant

Stefanie Junkermann is from Germany and is working on aspects of plant-fungus interactions. She is a specialist in multi-elemental analytics performed with the ICP-MS that is located in the Biocenter Mass Spectrometry Platform.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-90196     |     E-mail

 

Hang Lu

Postgraduate Researcher

 Hang Lu comes from China and is interested in the molecular architecture underlying the arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis and its potential towards the reconstruction of mutualistic symbioses.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222     |     E-mail     |     Orcid-ID

 

Isabelle Metzen

Postdoctoral Researcher

Isabelle Metzen is from Germany and is interested in the nutritional and metabolic interactions between mycorrhizal roots, their microbiota, and their impact on soil quality. She is also the scientific coordinator of the "Plant-Ukraine" project founded by STiL.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223     |     E-mail     |     Orcid-ID

 

Leia Mijatovic

Technical Assistant

Leia Mijatovic is from Germany and supports projects dealing with aspects of plant-fungi interaction. She usually works with Lotus japonicus and has in-depth knowledge of seed curation and genotyping.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-7326     |     E-mail

 

Claudia Schwanitz

Head of administration

Claudia Schwanitz comes from Germany and takes the lead in working at the interface between the university administration and our research group for financial and personnel matters.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-5664     |     E-mail

 

Dr. Esperanza Abril Sosa-López 

Postdoctoral Researcher

Esperanza Abril Sosa-López is from Mexico and works on the genetic host factors, particularly signaling mechanisms, that underlie symbiotic interactions between plants and fungi.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8224     |     E-mail     |     Orcid-ID

 

Dr. Mitzi Villajuana Bonequi

Postdoctoral Researcher

Dr. Mitzi Villajuana Bonequi is from Mexico and coordinates the CEPLAS Research & Education project at the University of Cologne. Her scientific expertise is in molecular biology, genetics, developmental biology, and reproductive development.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-7326     |     E-mail     |     Orcid-ID

 

Dr. Olha Zadorozhna

Research Associate

Olha Zadorozhna is from Ukraine and is currently working on signaling mechanisms in arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in the model legume Lotus japonicus.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223     |     E-mail     |     Orcid-ID