New PhD proposals call Graduate School

The call Graduate School Green Topsectors has led to interesting PhD proposals from different universities. The call establishes lucrative conditions to join these proposals, as only 15% private funding is necessary, of which half can be in-kind. Furthermore, this 15% concerns the total private funding needed, so if more partners join the proposal, the individual contribution will be less. 

Plantum would like to draw your attention to several PhD proposals written for this call:

Connor Philippo (Leiden University)
– Thermomemory: remembering the heat of the moment
The proposal focusses on heat stress, specifically the HSFA2 transcriptional regulator of thermomemory. Connor aims to enhance plant (crop) thermo-tolerance and growth/yield under recurring heat stress. He wants to identify small molecules enhancing thermopriming and genes/alleles related to thermomemory.
Contact Connor Maikel Zerdoner (Wageningen University and Research)
– Flipping the switch: Elucidating
the central role of G proteins in converging plant immunity triggered by cell surface receptors. Maikel wants to elucidate the core process of cell surface receptors and the (downstream) mechanism behind broad-spectrum resistance activation. He focusses on G-proteins, which are the ‘molecular switches’ present in all eukaryotes. Growing evidence has shown that G-proteins are involved in plant immunity, but it is yet unclear how they influence this process.
Contact Maikel  Lisanne Kottenhagen (Wageningen University and Research)
– Friend or Foe? Exploring the pathogenic/endophytic lifestyle switch of Fusarium odoratissimum in different plant hosts. Lisanne researches the interaction of the killing causal agent in Fusarium (TR4) with banana and a non-host plant as a model for discovery research with potential broad application.
Contact  Lisanne Tessa Visscher (Universiteit Utrecht)
– Beyond transcription: how the fate of mRNAs determines plant immunity. Tessa will investigate which mRNAs undergo translation during different types of biotic stresses, and their translocation upon elicitation of the immune system. Futhermore, she aims to validate the role of identified regulatory mRNA-to-protein mechanisms in plants under attack by pathogens and insects.
Contact Tessa

Please find attached to this news item the conditions of the Graduate School call. If your company is interested in (one of) these projects, please contact the students directly.

Due to the deadline for full proposals on September 15^th, please contact the students as soon as possible but no later than the end of August.

If you have any further questions, or require the full proposals forms, please contact Monique van Veghel.