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Projects - dr. IE (Emilie) Wientjes

  • Postdoc Project

    Francesco Saccon started in 2022 aiming to understand what controls the thylakoid structure and organisation. In 2023 he received a post-doctoral fellowship from the Human Frontiers from Science Program. His current research aims at revealing what factors mediate the resilience of photosynthetic membranes to heat stress.

  • Acclimation responses in photosynthetic organisms

    Photosynthesis is driven by light, yet too much light is harmful for the photosynthetic organisms. In our group we investigate how plants and cyanobacteria cope with differences in light quantity and quality. A multi-disciplinary approach combining biochemistry, spectroscopy and microscopy is used to unveil the beautiful solutions photosynthetic organisms evolved to survive on our dangerous planet.    

     

    Main experimental techniques

    • Confocal microscopy and Fluorescence Lifetime Imaging (FLIM)
    • Expansion microscopy
    • Ultrafast picosecond fluorescence
    • Molecular biology
    • Optical spectroscopy
    • Isolation and biochemical characterisation of photosynthetic complexes

     

    Current projects

    • 3D organisation of the photosynthetic thylakoid membrane
    • Light acclimation of the photosynthetic machinery of plants
    • State transitions resolved in space and time
    • Light harvesting in photosystem I and photosystem II

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    PhD Alumni

    Ahmad Bhatti graduated for his PhD in 2021. He investigated how cyanobacteria cope with different light conditions. To this end he combines advanced ultrafast fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy to spatially and spectrally resolve the acclimation processes. His work is published in BBA bioenergetics and Plant Physiology.

  • Postdoc Alumni

    Christo Schiphort started did his postdoc from 2020 to 2022. He used molecular biology, biochemistry, ultrafast fluorescence spectroscopy and confocal microscopy to investigate the functional plasticity of the thylakoid membrane. 

  • PhD project

    Peter Bos started his PhD in 2021. He uses a combination of biochemical and microscopic techniques to explore the organisation and functional plasticity of the thylakoid membrane from plants and cyanobacteria.

  • PhD project

    Cleo Bagchus began her PhD in 2022. She investigates how plants regulate photosynthesis under high light conditions, using different microscopy techniques and fluorescence spectroscopy.

  • PhD Project

    Jarne Berentsen started his PhD in 2023. He uses expansion microscopy to investigate the structural changes of the thylakoid membrane as a result of high light stress.