Vajiheh Safavi-Rizi: Plant Physiology First Author

Vajiheh Safavi-Rizi, author of “Towards genetically encoded sensors for nitric oxide bioimaging in planta“

Current Position: Postdoctoral fellow at Department of Plant Physiology, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

Education: Ph.D. at Department of Applied Genetics, Institute of Biology, Dahlem Centre of Plant Sciences, Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany; M.Sc. (Plant physiology), Institute of Biology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran; B.Sc. (Biology), Institute of Biology, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Non-scientific Interests: Painting, calligraphy, writing, travelling, cooking

Brief bio: I completed my Ph.D. on rapeseed response to nitrogen deficiency and senescence. Although, working with the leaf is quite interesting but the mystery of the unseen part of the plant, the root has always been quite alluring to me. I was always very curious to know more about the root response to stress. During my postdoc, I had the opportunity to shift my research from aboveground to the belowground. The major focuses of my current research are (1) transcriptional modulation of stress response under hypoxia and (2) nitric oxide (NO)-mediated signalling during hypoxia. My research is particularly important in the context of climate change which will be associated with more frequent flooding periods and exposure of plants to hypoxia. The more we understand plant survival mechanisms in response to stress conditions such as hypoxia, the better we can combat the negative effects of future climate change on food production for the increasing world population.