Antony van der Ent

Antony van der Ent is an Assistant Professor at the Laboratory of Genetics, Wageningen University & Research, specializing in trace element hyperaccumulator plants. His research focuses on ecophysiological and molecular mechanisms of metal hyperaccumulation, particularly in tropical and extreme environments. Current projects include an NWO Vidi-funded study on selenium hyperaccumulators like Neptunia amplexicaulis. He maintains affiliations as Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland and Visiting Researcher at Université de Lorraine. Key collaborations span Australia, Europe, and Asia, with a focus on phytoremediation, agromining, and biofortification applications. Media coverage of his work includes features in The New York Times and BBC World News, alongside an ARTE documentary titled 'Superplants' (2017). He actively supervises PhD students exploring hyperaccumulator genetics and plant-metal interactions.

Research Interests:

• Ecophysiology of metal hyperaccumulation
• X-ray-based metallome characterization
• Phytotechnologies for metal recovery (agromining/phytoremediation)
• Selenium metabolism in hyperaccumulator plants
• Biofortification strategies for essential elements

Collaborations:

• Prof Peter Erskine (University of Queensland)
• Prof Guillaume Echevarria (Econick, France)
• Prof Hugh Harris (University of Adelaide)
• Dr Kathryn Spiers (German Synchrotron)

Grants & Awards:

• NWO Vidi Grant (2023–2025)
• Australian Research Council DECRA (2016–2018)
• University of Queensland Amplify Fellowship (2019–2020)

Labs/Teams: Active in Wageningen's Plant Ecophysiology group and collaborates with global synchrotron facilities for advanced imaging.