Prof. Dr. Remko Offringa is Professor of Plant Developmental Genetics and head of cluster Plant Sciences. His research focusses on the role of the plant hormone auxin in developmental responses to environmental signals and on plant developmental phase transitions.

More information about Remko Offringa

Prof. Dr. Remko Offringa is Professor of Plant Developmental Genetics at the IBL. During his PhD research, he established the use of the Agrobacterium vector system for gene targeting in plants. After his graduation, his research focus switched to the role of the plant hormone auxin in development of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. These investigations led to the key discovery that the polarity of the transport of auxin is determined by phosphorylation of the PIN FORMED (PIN) auxin transporters by the plant-specific protein kinase PINOID. This finding, for which Remko Offringa received the C.J. Kok award and a NWO CW TOP subsidy, formed the basis for one of the main of research topics in his lab, how environmental signals alter plant development by modulating the subcellular localisation of PIN proteins.

Meanwhile, his research interests have expanded to the role of the plant hormone auxin in plant developmental switches, such as the initiation of (somatic) embryogenesis and fruit development, and recently also to bulb propagation and ageing. Remko co-authors more than 50 peer reviewed publications in high impact journals such as Science, Nature, Cell, PNAS, and The Plant Cell (h index = 33).

He is also co-author on several book chapters and patent applications, and acts as editor for Molecular Plant. He is theme leader in the research committee of the National Graduate School Experimental Plant Sciences (EPS), and co-founder of the Leiden University spin-off company Add2X Biosciences BV.

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