Peter Nick

Peter Nick is a Professor of Molecular Cell Biology at the Joseph Gottlieb Kölreuter Institute of Plant Sciences, affiliated with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). His research focuses on adapting viticulture to climate change by enhancing grapevine resilience through crossbreeding with wild vines and studying the role of root-zone microbiomes in plant immunity. He co-directs the KIT Botanical Institute, which houses a unique collection of European wild grapevines and a genome database for trait-specific breeding.

Research Interests:

• Studying plant-pathogen interactions via microfluidic chips to analyze molecular signals without physical contact.
• Investigating defense substances in plants for scientific validation of traditional medicinal uses.
• Utilizing DNA barcoding to authenticate plant specimens for food and medical product safety.

Labs & Collaborations: Nick leads the KIT Botanical Institute alongside Professor Holger Puchta. His team collaborates with the Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Office of Baden-Württemberg to address plant-related poisoning cases in pets.