Current lab members

Laura Dijkhuizen has been maintaining our Server and developed our bioinfomatics tools. She researches the metagenome of Azolla ferns as part of her PhD. She furthermore has a teaching appointment with the biology department. She is an enthusiastic photographer.

Sergio Arevalo Diaz is our filamentous cyanobacteria expert and is developing genetic tools for Azolla and other aquatic symbioses as part of his postdoctoral research funded by the Betty and Gordon Moore foundation. He comes to us from the laboratory of Enrique Flores (Sevilla, Spain) where he completed is PhD. His work is further embedded in the laboratories of Sandra Nierzwicki-Bauer (Troy, USA) and Peter Lindblad (Uppsala, Sweden).

Henriette Schluepmann is a well-traveled plant biologist leading the Azolla domestication program with a great respect for the achievements of young scientists. "After a Masters researching homologous recombination in the lab of Jerzy Paszkowski at ETH (Zuerich, Switzerland), I completed my PhD on pollen tube cell wall biosynthesis in the laboratory of Tony Bacic (Melbourne, Australia). Since 2004, I am Assistant Professor at the Utrecht University Molecular Plant Physiology where I uncovered the regulatory role of trehalose metabolism in Arabidopsis thaliana before developing the innovation-driven Azolla research. I am very much hands-on, both in the laboratory and in bio-informatics, in spite of the visionary ambitions in sustainability of my research".

Daniel A. Perez Rico verified transient transfer of T-DNA with viral replicons into Azolla ferns. He is currently venturing into testing RNA-mediated transposition with Cas12k during his Major Internship for his Masters Bio-Inspired Innovation. He comes to us from Mexico with excellent skills in molecular biology; he is already a mature scientist cautious and systematic.

Marco Raganato explores pathways of deoxyanthocyanin biosynthesis in Azolla and other, homo-sporous, ferns as part of his Major Internship for his Masters Bio-Inspired Innovation. Marco comes to us from Milano, Italy. His project is embedded in a collaboration with VitroPlus (Burghamstede, Zeeland).

Michelle B. Verstraaten "A biology and pre-medical student at the University College Utrecht, I was drawn to join the Azolla research to reconstruct this fern’s mitochondrial genome for my bachelor’s thesis. Next, I plan to attend a master’s programme in Norway or Sweden to pursue my interest in environmental biology."

Giulio de Marco Teixeira investigates the evolution of the N. azollae genomes in the different Azolla fern species. He wonders whether the genomes are locked into the "rabbit hole" of symbiosis, amongst other questions during a Minor Internship for his Masters in Bioinformatics.

Pepijn J. O. Tierolff has only just begun, yet he successfully isolated leaf packets of Azolla already, to be used to analyze metabolic interdependence of N. azollae and its host as part of a Major Internship for his Masters in Bio-Inspired Innovations. He also is an avid bread baker in Rotterdam.

Kelvin Adema has only just began with the ambition to develop "single"-cell RNA sequencing for the leaf-cavity trichomes and epidermal cells as a part of his Masters' minor internship. He comes to us from Wageningen UR with plenty of laboratory work experience and has already worked on legume symbioses.

Prof. Badraldin E. Sayed Tabatabaei is our long standing visiting professor from the Isfahan University of Technology Department of Agriculture Engineering in Iran. He is an invaluable asset in our team when he visits, teaching us how to observe, and improving our skills at tissue culture and dissection. He is immensely patient and dextrous.