Juliane

"HEAT: High temperature Effect on Aradiposis and Tomato seed quality" is the name of the proposal that was awarded to Leonie Bentsink. It is based on a proposal written by Lars Barkermans under the supervision of Mariana Silva Artur and Leónie Bentsink and original submitted to the EPS talent programme. Abstract Seeds are the starting material of agriculture. Climate changes, especially high temperatures, affect seed quality. In this proposal we aim at investigating the effect of high temperature on seed quality. We aim at studying if effects of high temperature can be transferred to the harvested seeds by means of seed treatments. We [...]

The Executive Board has appointed Marnix Medema as professor holding a personal chair in Bioinformatics in the Plant Sciences Group at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). The appointment is effective from 1 December. Marnix Medema (1986) studied biology at Radboud University Nijmegen. In 2009, he received his PhD from the University of Groningen with a project on the discovery of new antibiotics based on genetic information from bacteria. After his PhD graduation, Medema worked at the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (Bremen, Germany), where he assembled a large international consortium to assemble experimental data on biosynthetic gene clusters in [...]

After more than 10 years as Theme coordinator 4 Eric Schranz stepped down. During the Theme 4 symposium in December hold in Amsterdam he introduced Aalt-Jan van Dijk (Bioinformatics, WUR) as the new theme 4 coordinator. Together with Maike Stam (UvA) he will organize the EPS Theme 4 symposium and will be part of the research committee. Big thank you to Eric Schranz for all the fantastic work he did as a theme coordinator.

Within the EPS Graduate Programme MSc students get the opportunity to write and submit their own PhD proposals with a research group of their own choice. This year Jarne Berentsen of Wageningen University proposal was awarded by the committee. Jarne Berentsen, WUR (Coach: Emilie Wientjes)  "The interplay between thylakoid membrane reorganisation and photosystem II repair during high-light induced stress"

The aim of this programme is to facilitate innovative and high-quality scientific research within the research field of the top sectors Agri&Food and Horticulture & Starting Materials by engaging young talented researchers at the start of their careers. MSc students get the opportunity to write and submit their own PhD proposals with a research group of their own choice.Three of the calls were granted to EPS MSc students.     Indira Sánchez Bretones, WUR ( Coach: Marian Bemer)     "The impact of timing: unravelling the mechanisms behind inflorescence termination in tomato"     Fabiënne Gidding, RU (Coach: Ivo Rieu)     [...]

Biochemist Daan Swarts of Wageningen University and Research has been appointed EMBO Young Investigator, which means that he is now part of a group of promising young scientists within molecular biology. Together with 23 other junior researchers, Swarts will receive financial support, resources and other forms of support for the next four years so that he will be able to establish himself as a leader in the field. Swarts’s group conducts research into the immune system of bacteria and, according to organisation EMBO (European Molecular Biology Organisation), the group has the potential to make a major impact in its field [...]