The IMPRS for Molecular Plant Science (IMPRS MolPlant) is a joint initiative of the University of Potsdam and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, located in Potsdam near Berlin, Germany. The doctoral program was established in 2007. We are accepting talented graduate students into the IMPRS at regular intervals. Our graduate students conduct their research projects under the supervision of our faculty members.
Research Focus
Research in modern plant science is at the core of the IMPRS. Plants and their seeds, for example rice, wheat, maize and pulses, are vital for human nutrition. Understanding the fundamental processes of how plants grow, reproduce and interact with the abiotic and biotic environment is of great scientific interest and, ultimately, has societal and economic implications.
We conduct curiosity-driven, basic research centering around the following questions:
To answer these questions, we use an interdisciplinary approach combining molecular biology, genetics, genomics, epigenomics, metabolomics, biochemistry, biophysics and microscopy with bioinformatics and modelling. We work with Arabidopsis thaliana, tobacco, tomato, Lotus japonicus, rice and other model plants, and make use of genetic diversity by studying natural accessions, closely related species, and introgression populations.
Website of the IMPRS: https://www.mpimp-golm.mpg.de/IMPRS-PhD