Lab of bioinformatics and computational genomics

Background: MSc. in Bioscience Engineering – Cell and Gene Biotechnology, with specialized courses in molecular plant biology and bioinformatics (2016, Ghent University)

Research: Plant cells exhibit extraordinary developmental plasticity, enabling plants to regenerate tissues and organs upon wounding or hormonal induction. In my PhD I will study the regeneration of shoots from root explants in Arabidopsis thaliana with the aim to improve strategies for mass clonal propagation of elite varieties. Data from complementary experiments based on phosphoproteomics, RT-qPCR, knock-out mutants, reporter lines and GWAS will be integrated using computational methods, to build a model of the molecular signaling events involved in de novo shoot formation that will allow to rationalize the design of in vitro micropropagation protocols. To increase the chance of finding important regulatory modules, the stimulatory effect of a specific compound (discovered at the Department of Plant Production) on shoot regeneration will be exploited.