Melvin Rodriguez-Heredia: Plant Physiology First Author

Melvin Rodriguez-Heredia, first author of “Protection of photosystem I during sudden light stress depends on ferredoxin:NADP(H) reductase abundance and interactions”

Current Position: PhD Candidate, Department of Biochemistry, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London

Education: BSc (Biochemical Engineering), Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes (Mexico); MEng (Biological Engineering), Université de Technologie de Compiègne (France).

Non-scientific Interests: playing violin, restoring old cars, cooking, gardening, DIY.

Brief Bio: I became passionate for plants since I was a child thanks to my mother. This passion remains until today and is the source of inspiration for my current scientific career.  I graduated as MEng at Université de Technologie de Compiègne in 2017. During my time in France, I had a satisfying research experience in phytopathology working with root knot nematodes and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at the INRAE (Institut National de Recherche Agronomique et l’Environment). Eventually, I got interested in plant photosynthesis and decided to join Dr Guy Hanke at Queen Mary University of London for pursuing my PhD. My project is focused on understanding how the regulation of photosynthetic electron transport affects plant stress tolerance.  My research combines genetic manipulation with biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology techniques on Arabidopsis and Barley.  I am particularly interested in plant adaptation to light and its potential for agricultural and biotechnological applications.