Maryam Nasr Esfahani, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Maryam is an experienced postdoctoral researcher with a focus on plant nutrition and abiotic stress. Before joining the Division of Biochemistry at FAU Erlangen on a Humbolt research fellowship, she worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran for 11 years. Maryam initially studied and obtained her PhD in Plant Physiology from the University of Isfahan, Iran. In the CASS project, she will focus on the characterization of transgeneic cassava lines with alterations in plant architecture and nutrient metabolism. 

Qingting Liu, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Qingting studied biology at Shandong Agriculture University where he worked on the identification and characterization of specific recepor-like kinases interacting with ABA receptors.  For this PhD, he moved to Potsdam, Germany and investigated the regulation of starch granule morphogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana at Potsdam University in the Institute of Biochemistry and Biology. Qingting has a strong background in plant biochemisty and  with a focus on carbohydrate metabolism. In the CASS project, he will focus on the characterization of transgenic cassava lines with alterations in metabolism. 

Yawen Shen, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher

Yawen initially studied biology at Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China. In her master thesis, she investigated the molecular mechanisms of flowering genes in apple. For her subsequent PhD studies, she moved to Potsdam, Germany and investigated the gene regulatory network of a specific C2H2-type zinc finger transcription factor in Arabidopsis thaliana. Yawen obtained a PhD in biology and aquired a strong background in root development. In the CASS project, she will focus on the characterization of transgenic cassava lines with alterations in transport and development. 

Mercedes Thieme, PhD

Data Manager

Mercedes has a strong background in plant biology and acquired a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) by investigating starch biosynthesis and crop quality improvement in barley in a cooperation project between ETH Zurich and Carlsberg Research Laboratory (Switzerland & Denmark). Through her PhD and subsequent employment at a Start-Up breeding company, she also acquired experience in the agricultural R&D industry. Mercedes is versed in statistical data analysis and visualization and has a strong background in data & metadata management, digitalization, and visualization. She also has experience in database creation and management. In the CASS project, Mercedes will lead the data management and improve existing data work flows.