User:Uconrath

Uwe Conrath

Uwe Conrath (born December 28, 1961, in Neunkirchen) is a German natural scientist (biologist), university professor, and entrepreneur. His research focuses on the physiology, biochemistry, and molecular biology of plants, with an emphasis on the plant immune system and plant protection.

Table of Contents


 * 1) Life
 * 2) Honors and Awards
 * 3) External Links
 * 4) References

Life

Uwe Conrath grew up in Limbach (now a district of Kirkel) near Homburg. From 1983 to 1989, he studied biology at the University of Kaiserslautern. He conducted the research for his diploma thesis on the chitosan-induced biosynthesis of coumarin derivatives and callose in parsley suspension cells in Heinrich Kauss's research group. In 1992, he earned his Dr. rer. nat. in the same laboratory. The title of his dissertation is Recognition and Implementation of Signals in the Induction of Coumarin Secretion in Parsley Suspension Cells. Following his doctorate, he completed a postdoctoral stay with Daniel F. Klessig at Rutgers University in New Jersey (USA), before returning to Kaiserslautern in 1995 to take up a position as a research assistant. In 1999, he habilitated with his thesis Studies on the Mechanisms of Action of Salicylic Acid in Systemic Acquired Resistance of Plants in the Biology Department at the University of Kaiserslautern and received the Venia legendi for botany. From 2002 to 2003, he was a substitute professor for Molecular Biology of Plants at the Institute of Cellular & Molecular Botany at the University of Bonn.

In 2004, Conrath became a university professor of biochemistry and molecular biology of plants at the Institute of Plant Physiology at RWTH Aachen University. In 2021, he co-founded the startup company AgPrime GmbH based in Baesweiler with several colleagues.

Conrath's early career focused on the recognition and transmission of signal molecules from pathogens into plant cells. Later, he increasingly worked on systemic acquired resistance (systemic immunity) of plants against pathogens. His elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of defense priming in systemic acquired resistance has received international attention. This includes recent research on the role of chromatin changes in defense priming. Conrath also studies non-host resistance in plants (particularly in the model system Arabidopsis thaliana), Asian soybean rust, and natural sources of plant disease resistance. Another current focus of Conrath's research is in agricultural biotechnology and environmentally friendly plant protection.

Conrath has published numerous articles in scientific journals and holds several patents. He is a member of several scientific organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the German Botanical Society. He chaired the Host-Parasite Interaction Working Group of the German Phytomedical Society e.V. (2006-2014) and was a specialist reviewer for the German Research Foundation (2016-2020).

Honors and Awards


 * 2014 Rudolf Heitefuß Award for scientific achievements (formerly the Science Prize) of the German Phytomedical Society e.V. for his research in defense priming.
 * 2014 Innovation Award from RWTH Aachen

External Links


 * Team of the Institute of Plant Physiology (Bio3) at RWTH Aachen

References


 * List of publications by U. Conrath on rwth-aachen.de
 * Award for RWTH Professor Uwe Conrath, press release by RWTH Aachen, March 21, 2014, retrieved on March 31, 2014.