PSC Frontier Seminar series


Title: How and why plants degrade chlorophyll

Speaker: Prof. Stefan Hörtensteiner, Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich (Switzerland)

Time: 10:00 am

Day/Date: November 5th, 2018 (Monday)

Host PI: Prof. Chanhong Kim

Venue: No.1 Meeting Room


Additional Information: 

Dr. Stefan Hörtensteiner is a Professor at Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Switzerland. He received his Ph.D. degree from the ETH Zurich in 1993, then worked for 7 years as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Zurich. Afterwards, he continued his research career as a group leader at the University of Bern, before moving back to Zurich in 2007. His research focuses on the analysis of chlorophyll breakdown during plant senescence and fruit ripening. This includes molecular, biochemical and analytical work in Arabidopsis thaliana, tomato, grasses and other plant species, including lower plants, to 1) fully elucidate the biochemical pathway of chlorophyll breakdown, 2) to identify and analyze final products of chlorophyll breakdown and 3) to investigate regulatory and evolutionary aspects of this pathway. Techniques used in his group include liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, confocal fluorescence microscopy and classical protein biochemistry.

Dr. Hörtensteiner provides reviewing service to national and international organizations and journals including the Swiss National Science Foundation, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, and many peer-reviewed journals. He is member of the American Society of Plant Biology. His work resulted in over 80 scientific publications, reviews, and book chapters.


The seminar will be delivered in English.