Recognizing Plant Physiology first authors: Marianne Nymark

Marianne Nymark, co-first author of Loss of ALBINO3b insertase results in a truncated light-harvesting antenna in diatoms

Current Position: Research scientist at the Cell, Molecular Biology and Genomics group at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)

Education: PhD in Biology from NTNU (2008-2013), MSc in Molecular Biotechnology from the Arctic University of Norway (2002-2006), BSc to become a Biomedical Laboratory Scientist (1997-2000), Bergen University College

Non-scientific Interests: Spending time with family and friends, soccer, traveling

Brief bio: I have worked with marine diatoms since 2008, and I am currently employed as a research scientist at the Cell, Molecular Biology and Genomics group at NTNU. My coworkers and I established the CRISPR/Cas9 technology for the model diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum in 2016, and we have further developed the technique to enable transgene-free genome editing. We are currently using the CRISPR/Cas9 technology to enable functional analyses of genes/proteins to improve our understanding of diatom biology and for performing strain improvement for biotechnological applications.