{"id":9,"date":"2020-01-06T08:25:54","date_gmt":"2020-01-06T08:25:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wrzaczek.at\/?page_id=9"},"modified":"2021-04-26T11:21:07","modified_gmt":"2021-04-26T11:21:07","slug":"about-me","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.wrzaczek.at\/?page_id=9","title":{"rendered":"About me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I am interested in signal transduction and how communication is organized at the cellular level in plants. In particular, I am interested in how receptors, which are localized in the plasma membrane of plants cells, perceive signals from the environment or other cells and relay those signals to other components inside the cell. I am also interested in how changes in protein-protein interactions determine the outcome of signal transduction processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I originally studied Anthropology\/Human Biology at the University of Vienna, Austria. However, I rapidly developed an interest in genetics and molecular biology. For my Master thesis I joined the laboratory of Prof. Heribert Hirt and started to work with plants. My supervisors introduced plants to me as a highly interesting model system to study signal transduction and protein phosphorylation. So I continued my work as doctoral student with Prof. Heribert Hirt and Dr. Claudia Jonak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After my PhD, I moved to Helsinki, Finland, to join the team of Prof. Jaakko Kangasj\u00e4rvi to study reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling. This move led to me estalishing my own group in Helsinki where we study protein phosphorylation, ROS signaling and the integration of signaling events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-large-font-size\"><em><strong>Curriculum vitae<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dr. Michael Alois Wrzaczek<\/strong>, Docent \u2013 <strong>Research Group Leader, Lecturer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td><strong>Institute of Plant Molecular Biology<br>Biology Centre CAS<\/strong><br>Branisovska 1160\/31<br>370 05 Ceske Budejovice<br>Czech Republic<br>E-Mail: <a href=\"mailto:michael.wrzaczek@umbr.cas.cz\">michael.wrzaczek@umbr.cas.cz<\/a><br><br><br>Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Viikki Plant Science Centre, VIPS<br> Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences<br> Viikki Biocenter 3, Viikinkaari 1, PO Box 65<br> FIN-00014 Helsinki University, Finland<br> Office Phone: +358 2941 57773 <br> E-mail: <a href=\"mailto:michael.wrzaczek@helsinki.\ufb01\">michael.wrzaczek@helsinki.\ufb01<\/a> <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><tbody><tr><td>ORCID ID:   <a href=\"http:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5946-9060\">http:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5946-9060<\/a>    <br>Personal webpage:    <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wrzaczek.at\">http:\/\/www.wrzaczek.at<\/a>   <br>Research group webpage: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.umbr.cas.cz\/en\/departments\/plant-molecular-signalling\/\">https:\/\/www.umbr.cas.cz\/en\/departments\/plant-molecular-signalling\/<\/a>   <br>Researchgate:<a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Michael_Wrzaczek\"> https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/profile\/Michael_Wrzaczek<\/a><br>Google scholar:  <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.fi\/citations?user=o2a8L6oAAAAJ&amp;hl=en\">https:\/\/scholar.google.fi\/citations?user=o2a8L6oAAAAJ&amp;hl=en<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Education and\ndegrees awarded <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Docent in plant\nmolecular physiology and bioinformatics, University of Helsinki, March 1, 2011.<\/li><li>Doctoral\ndegree, University of Vienna, Dept of Microbiology and Genetics, Austria.\nSubject: Genetics. November 9, 2004. Group of Dr. Claudia Jonak. Title: \u201c<em>MsK1, a\nGlycogen Synthase Kinase from Medicago\nsativa, Modulates Plant Stress Tolerance<\/em>\u201d.<\/li><li>Master\u2019s degree, University of Vienna, Dept of\nMicrobiology and Genetics, Austria. Subject: Human biology. January 16, 2001. Group\nof Prof. Dr. Heribert Hirt. Title: \u201c<em>Characterisation of interaction\npartners of the Glycogen synthase kinase-3 homologues MsK4 and MsK5 in Medicago sativa\u201d<\/em>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other education\nand training, qualifications and skills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Selected for participation in the highly competitive <strong>Arabidopsis Molecular Genetics course at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories, USA<\/strong> (June 29 \u2013 July 20, 2001).<\/li><li>University Pedagogics \u2013 Constructive alignment (UP1, 2 modules, 10 credits), autumn 2012. <\/li><li>University Pedagogics \u2013 Assessment of learning (UP4, 1 module, 5 credits), spring 2013.<\/li><li>University Pedagogics \u2013 Academic supervising (UP3, 1 module, 5 credits; autumn 2013).<\/li><li>\u201cLeadership Program for Academic Staff at University of Helsinki\u201d (winter 2013\/2014). <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Language skills<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>German \u2013 native\nspeaker<\/li><li>English \u2013\nexcellent (self-assessment of language skills C2 for listening, reading,\nspeaking and writing)<\/li><li>French \u2013 basic\n(self-assessment of language skills B1 for listening, reading, speaking and\nwriting)<\/li><li>Finnish \u2013\nintermediate (self-assessment of language skills B1 for listening, speaking and\nwriting, B2 for reading)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Current\nposition<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Group leader and lecturer at the Faculty of Biological\nand Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Receptor-ligand signaling group (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.helsinki.fi\/plantreceptors\/\">http:\/\/www.helsinki.fi\/plantreceptors\/<\/a>)  consists of Dr. Michael Wrzaczek (principal investigator), Dr. Kerri  Hunter (postdoc), Mr. Matteo Citterico (doctoral student), Ms. Huiting Jin (doctoral student), and Mr. Ville  Pennanen (doctoral student) . &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Previous work\nexperience <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Academy Research Fellow (September 1, 2014 \u2013 August 31,\n2019), Academy of Finland (decision #275632), and group leader in the Finnish\nCentre of Excellence in Molecular Biology of Primary Producers (2014-2019; <em>Primaarituottajien molekyylibiologian\nhuippuyksikk\u00f6<\/em>), Academy of Finland (decision #271832) starting from January 1<sup>st<\/sup>, 2014.<\/li><li>Junior group leader of the RLK, ROS perception and\ncell death team associated with the plant stress group of Prof. Jaakko\nKangasj\u00e4rvi. January 1, 2011 \u2013 December 31, 2013.<\/li><li>Post-Doctoral researcher and junior group leader at\nthe University of Helsinki associated with the group of Prof. Jaakko\nKangasj\u00e4rvi funded by a Helsinki University post-doc project \u201c<em>Novel mechanisms in the regulation of\nprogrammed cell death in plants<\/em>\u201d. Period: January 1, 2008 \u2013 December 31,\n2010<\/li><li>Post-Doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki\nin the group of Prof. Dr. Jaakko Kangasj\u00e4rvi (Plant Stress Group) in the\nAcademy of Finland-funded project \u201c<em>Functional\ngenomics of oxygen radical perception and signaling in plants<\/em>\u201d. February 1,\n2005 \u2013 December 31, 2007<\/li><li>Doctoral student at the Institute of Microbiology and\nGenetics, University of Vienna in the Group of Dr. Claudia Jonak. February 1,\n2001 \u2013 December 31, 2004.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Funding:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Academy of\nFinland Research Project <em>\u201cSignal\nintegration through plasma membrane-localized proteins during stress signaling\nin plants\u201d<\/em> (decision #323917; \u20ac 499 651) September 1, 2019 \u2013 August 31,\n2023.<\/li><li>Academy of\nFinland Travel Grant 2018.<\/li><li>Academy of Finland Research Fellow \u2013 research costs\n(#312498; \u20ac 342 664) September 1, 2017 \u2013\nAugust 31, 2019. <\/li><li>Academy of Finland Research Fellow \u2013 research costs\n(#283139; \u20ac 299 901) September 1, 2014 \u2013\nAugust 31, 2017).<\/li><li>Academy of Finland Research Fellow \u201c<em>Understanding peptide ligands and their\nreceptors in plants<\/em>\u201d (decisions #275632; \u20ac 434 485) September 1, 2014 \u2013 August 31, 2019.<\/li><li>Prime-X grant for proteomic analysis of secreted\npeptides in plant suspension culture (Collaboration with Dr. Hannele Tuominen,\nDr. Simon Stael, Prof. Frank Van Breusegem, Prof. Kris Gevaert), March 2014.<\/li><li>Academy of\nFinland Travel grant 2014.<\/li><li>University of\nHelsinki Three-Year-Grant \u201c<em>Cell death\nregulation by small extracellular proteins in plants<\/em>\u201d (145&nbsp;000 \u20ac). January 1, 2013 \u2013 December 31, 2015.<\/li><li>University of\nHelsinki Post-Doctoral Researcher grant. January 1, 2008 \u2013 December 31, 2010.<\/li><li>Coordinator for the application and leading junior group leader of the European Research\nArea Plant Genomics (ERA PG; http:\/\/www.erapg.net) consortium \u201dPROSIG\u201d&nbsp; (2009-2012) together with Prof. David\nCollinge and Dr. Michael Lyngkj\u00e6r (Denmark), Dr. Silke Robatzek (UK), Prof.\nStanislaw Karpinski (Poland) and Dr. Jan Willem Borst (Netherlands). Project\nwas accepted for funding in 2008. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Supervision:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Supervisor doctoral students Mr. Matteo Citterico, Ms. Huiting Jin, and Mr. Ville Pennanen (ongoing) and previously for Ms. Aleksia Vaattovaara, Ms. Kerri Hunter and Ms. Niina Id\u00e4nheimo (all defended).<\/li><li>Postdoctoral advisor for Dr. Sachie Kimura (2014-2019), Dr. Takamitsu Kurusu (2018 and 2019), Dr. Derek Collinge (2015-2016), Dr. Adrien Gauthier (2009-2015).<\/li><li>Supervisor for Master student Nghia Le Tri (2017) and graduate student Cuong Tran (2018).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Host and supervisor for exchange students and internship students:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>2019: Ms. Haruna Hirokawa (Ritsumeikan University, Japan), Mr. Petr Dvorzak (Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic), Mr. Denis Owczarek (University of Braunschweig, Germany), Mr. Jan-Niklas Weber (University of Braunschweig, Germany)<\/li><li>2018: Mr. Markus Laurel (University of Helsinki, Finland), Ms. Maya Willkens (University of Braunschweig, Germany), Ms. Lena Mei\u00dfner (University of Braunschweig, Germany), Mark\u00e9ta Luklov\u00e1 (Mendel University, Brno, Czech Republic), Mr. Simon Schmitz (University of Braunschweig, Germany)<\/li><li>2016: Mr. Awais Zahid Muhammad (University of Hohenheim, Germany), Mrs. Rajita Thapa (Nepal)<\/li><li>2015: Ms. Salla Jalkanen (University of Helsinki), Mr. Robin Moore (University of Helsinki)<\/li><li>2014: Mr. Pawel Burdiak (Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland), Ms. Daniela Van Thiel (University of Braunschweig, Germany)<\/li><li>2013: Ms. Susanna Tarkiainen (University of Helsinki)<\/li><li>2012: Mr. David Kaufholdt (University of Braunschweig, Germany) <\/li><li>2011: Ms. Jennifer Sand (University of M\u00fcnster, Germany)<\/li><li>2010: Mr. Hansj\u00f6rg Stampfl (Gregor-Mendel-Institute, Austria) <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Member of the follow-up group for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Mrs. Aiste Ivanauskaite (University of Turku, Finland; Supervisor: Dr. Paula Mulo)<\/li><li>Mrs. Pinky Dutta (University of Helsinki; Supervisor: Prof. Kristiina M\u00e4kinen)<\/li><li> Mrs. Pooneh Sotoudehnia (University of Turku, Finland; Supervisor: Dr. Esa Tyystj\u00e4rvi) <\/li><li>Mrs. Moona Rahikainen (University of Turku, Finland; Supervisor: Dr. Saijaliisa Kangasj\u00e4rvi)<\/li><li>Mrs. Yafei Zhao (University of Helsinki, Finland; Supervisor: Prof. Paula Elomaa)<\/li><li>Mr. Raffael Lichtenberger (University of Helsinki, Finland; Supervisor: Prof. Yk\u00e4 Helariutta).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Opponent and pre-examiner for Mrs. Rewaa Jalal (King Abdullah University of Science &amp; Technology, Saudi Arabia; May 2019).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Member of reading and PhD committee (opponent) for Mr. Lorin Mignolet (Ghent University and VIB, Belgium; December 2014 \u2013 March 2015). <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Merits\nin teaching <\/strong><strong>and\npedagogical competence<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Courses:<ul><li>\u201cAdaptation in plants\u201d \u2013 lecture course 2019.<\/li><li>\u201cPlant physiology and biochemistry\u201d \u2013 lecture course 2019.<\/li><li>\u201cCell walls in plants\u201d \u2013 lecture course 2019, session on cell wall signal transduction (University of Helsinki, Finland). <\/li><li>\u201cAdaptation in plants\u201d \u2013 lecture course 2018.<\/li><li>\u201cPlants in a changing world\u201d \u2013 lecture course 2017 and 2018.<\/li><li>\u201cGene family evolution in plants\u201d \u2013 invited teacher Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Japan, 2016 and 2017.<\/li><li>\u201cProtein phosphorylation\u201d and \u201cPost-translational modifications\u201d \u2013 invited teacher Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Japan, 2016 and 2017.<\/li><li>\u201cSignal transduction in plants\u201d \u2013 lecture course August 2016. I designed and managed the course and coordinated the teachers.<\/li><li>Practical course \u201cMethods in molecular biology\u201d (\u201c\u00dcbung im P\ufb02ichtfach Gen- und Biotechnologie \u201d) at University of Vienna (2002-2004).<\/li><li>Practical course \u201cAdvanced Course in Plant Molecular Biology\u201d (University of Helsinki).<\/li><li>Practical course \u201cAdvanced Computer Methods for Biologists\u201d (University of Helsinki).<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Other academic\nmerits <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Member of the Scientific advisory Board for the International \nConference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR) 2021 in Belfast, Northern \nIreland.<\/li><li>Editorial Board member Journal for Plant Research.<\/li><li>Reviewing Editor for Frontiers in Plant Science.<\/li><li>Member of the steering committee of the Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme<\/li><li>Chair of the organizing committee for the 29<sup>th<\/sup>\n International Conference on Arabidopsis Research (ICAR) 2018 in Turku, \nFinland, June 25 to 29, 2018. Over 600 participants from Europe, Asia, \nAustralia, North and South America and also Africa gathered for five \ndays to exchange the latest discoveries in modern molecular plant \nscience.<\/li><li>MASC (Multinational Arabidopsis Steering Committee) coordinator for Finland from 2014.<\/li><li>Panel member for National Science Center Poland (Poland, 2018).<\/li><li>Grant reviewer for <strong>DFG <\/strong>(Germany), <strong>NSF <\/strong>(USA), <strong>National Science Center Poland<\/strong>, the <strong>Einstein Foundatio<\/strong>n (Germany), <strong>OKTA <\/strong>(Hungary), <strong>BBSRC <\/strong>(UK), <strong>NWO <\/strong>(Netherlands) and <strong>FWO <\/strong>(Belgium).<\/li><li>Reviewer for international scientific journals including <strong><em>Nature\n Plants, Nature Communications, Plant Physiology, Annals of Botany, BMC \nGenomics, Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions, Physiologia Plantarum, \nPlant Physiology and Biochemistry, New Phytologist, Journal of Plant \nPhysiology, Scientific Reports, Molecular Plant Pathology, PLoS One, \nPLoS Biology, Journal of Experimental Botany, Plant Signaling and \nBehavior, Plant Physiology, Development.<\/em><\/strong><\/li><li>Guest editor for the ROS special issue of <strong><em>Physiologia Plantarum<\/em><\/strong> (January 2010) together with Prof. Jaakko Kangasj\u00e4rvi and Dr. Kirk Overmyer.<\/li><li>Organizer of the Finnish-Japanese Meeting 2016 together with Dr. Yagut Allahverdieyeva.<\/li><li>Organizer of the 2<sup>nd<\/sup> SPPS Career PI Meeting (Sweden, November 2015) together with Dr. Karin Stensj\u00f6.<\/li><li>Secretary for the organization of the 1<sup>st<\/sup> SPPS Early Career PI Meeting (Naantali, Finland, November 25-26, 2014)<\/li><li>Participation\n and assistance (responsible for computer systems) in the organization \nof the Plant Phosphorylation meeting in Vienna in September 2001. <\/li><li>Participation and assistance in the organization of the XVI FESPB conference in Tampere, Finland, August 17-22, 2008. <\/li><li>Member of the organizing committee for the Plant ROS 2009 meeting in Helsinki, Finland, July 8-10 2009.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Scientific and societal impact of research<\/strong> 32 total publications in Google Scholar. Three publications currently under review, two preprinta on bioRxiv.   <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am interested in signal transduction and how communication is organized at the cellular level in plants. 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