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Head of the group

Prof. Dr. Marcel Bucher

Marcel Bucher comes from Switzerland and his research interests focus on how plants respond to nutrient limitation in the context of plant-microbiota-soil interactions in the rhizosphere. He enjoys witnessing how students, young scientists and associates take responsibility, develop their project(s), skills, and personality, and further their career. His teaching portfolio includes basic courses in plant anatomy and physiology, and advanced courses in plant molecular biology and plant genetics. From 2012-2015 he was a member of  the executive board and the steering board of the Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences - CEPLAS (www.ceplas.eu). Within CEPLAS he is responsible for the outreach project „Research and Education: Knowledge transfer from research to schools“.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-2481

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Secretary

Claudia Schwanitz

 

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

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Scientists

Dr. Esperanza Abril Sosa

Esperanza Abril Sosa comes from Mexico and is working on host genetic factors underlying plant-fungi beneficial interactions.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8224

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Dr. Orarat Ginsawaeng

Orarat Ginsawaeng comes from Thailand and is interested in the transcriptional regulation of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in Lotus japonicus.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222

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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

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Dr. Mitzi Villajuana Bonequi

Coordinator

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

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

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Dr. Olha Zadorozhna

Research Associate

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

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223

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Doctoral students

Jan Gaertner

Jan Gaertner is from the Netherlands and is studying the genetic and molecular mechanisms by which Arabidopsis thaliana associates with its root endosymbiont Colletotrichum toefieldiae to better understand the interactions with Colletotrichum spp. and to develop a genetically accessible system for mutualistic plant root symbiosis

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222

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Elena Gallina

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

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Chuanya Ji

Chuanya Ji comes from China and is interested in the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis in citrus and Medicago truncatula.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222

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Hang Lu

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

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8222

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Isabelle Metzen

Isabelle Metzen comes from Germany and is interested in the nutritional and metabolic interactions between mycorrhizal roots and their microbiota as well as in their impact on soil quality.

Tel.: +49 (0)221 470-8223

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Technical Assistance

Ulrike Hebbeker

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

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

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Stefanie Junkermann

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)221 470-8224

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Leia Mijatovic

 Leia Mijatovic is from Germany and is working on aspects of plant-fungus interactions. She curates CORFU (COlogne collection of Root-associated FUngi) and the lab's seed storage.

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

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