prof. dr. L.A.C.J. Voesenek (Rens) 

Email: L.A.C.J.Voesenek@uu.nl
H.R.Kruytgebouw
Padualaan 8
3584 CH Utrecht
room Z307
Tel +31 30 2536849 (bgg +31 30 2532276)

ISI Researcher ID B-9661-2011

Curriculum Vitae


I started my scientific career in the department of Experimental Plant Ecology at the Radboud University Nijmegen. My PhD research had its fundaments in Ecology and aimed to improve insight into the distribution patterns of Rumex species in flood-exposed river floodplains. Gradually this work focused on the physiological mechanisms that enable plants to cope with complete submergence. Ethylene-induced petiole elongation turned out to be an important trait to survive prolonged flooding events. In 1999 I accepted a full professor position in Plant Ecophysiology at Utrecht University. Here I continued the physiological work and extended it with research questions related to the molecular regulation of under water elongation. Next to Rumex also Arabidopsis thaliana was included as a model species in many research projects. Furthermore, the observation that low light levels stimulate shoot elongation, in a way very similar to submergence, resulted in more research on the impact of low light levels on plant growth. So far this work resulted in more than 120 publications.

Ultimately, I hope our work contributes to a better understanding of the fundamental mechanisms through which higher plants acclimate to environmental signals. This will play a role in the selection and breeding of crop species that are more tolerant to environmental stress.